Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
An oil analyst at a US commodities trading house has been dismissed after a video that circulated on social media showed him in a tense exchange with an onlooker as he covered up what appeared to be posters of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Kurush Mistry had worked at Freepoint Commodities for nine years, according to his LinkedIn page. He was previously employed at the banks Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Lehman Brothers.
A video posted on social media late last week showed Mistry papering over flyers on a lamppost and holding up signs saying “Israel is an apartheid state” and “Occupiers face consequences”.
He was also filmed appearing to make an obscene gesture at a person who identified himself as a Jewish American as they argued on a pavement. He and a woman told the person: “Go back to your country.”
In a statement after the video of Mistry went viral, Freepoint said it was “aware of the recent antisemitic incident reported on social media, and the individual involved is no longer associated with Freepoint”.
Two people familiar with the matter identified the individual in the video as Mistry and confirmed that he was fired from Freepoint. Mistry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Freepoint, based in Connecticut, is involved in energy, metals and agricultural markets. It was set up in 2011 by David Messer and other former leaders of Sempra Commodities, once a top commodities trading house. Messer is also chair of the board of governors at Shalem College, a private undergraduate college in Jerusalem which was established in 2013, according to its website.
“We welcome the diversity of views and opinions held by our employees, but Freepoint does not tolerate discrimination and hate speech directed against any group,” the company said.
The incident shows how repercussions from Israel’s war with Hamas is reaching into the business community from university campuses that have become a focal point for opposing viewpoints on the conflict. Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have been reported across the world as Israel retaliates against Hamas’s October 7 attack by bombarding the densely packed Gaza strip.
Law firms have rescinded offers to students over their participation in groups criticising Israel over the conflict and urged universities to do more to crack down on student antisemitism.
Last month, high-profile US executives and financiers expressed outrage over a statement issued by groups at Harvard University that held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence”.
The number of antisemitic incidents has quadrupled in the US since the war broke out, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group.
Amid rising reports of threats and violence against Jewish and Muslim students, academics from some of the country’s leading institutions are set to meet next week to explore ways to defuse the tensions.
Read the full article here