iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The Indian-origin couple that was caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks and shouting expletives at a Jewish American man has tendered an apology. The couple had also filmed covering up Israeli hostage posters with flyers that read “Occupiers face consequences.”
Kurush Mistry, an Indian-origin analyst for a commodities company in New York, and his wife Shailja Gupta were caught on camera covering up posters of civilians kidnapped by Hamas stuck to a lamppost in New York City. The incident triggered a backlash on social media as the video also showed them harassing the Jewish man.
“After taking time to contemplate and reflect on our recent actions, we want to send our sincerest apologies to the Jewish gentleman we yelled at, gestured to, and said unkind things to, as well as apologize to the global Jewish community for our recent actions in NYC. Our behavior was simply unacceptable and we are ashamed of our actions and words. We hope to have the opportunity in the near future to speak to the gentleman personally and apologize directly to him,” the couple said in a joint statement released on November 17.
Kurush Mistry, an oil analyst with Freepoint Commodities, was fired after the incident. Without naming him, the company had confirmed in a statement that the “individual” associated with the incident is “no longer associated” with the company.
“We have never supported Hamas and have always believed it is a terrorist organization. This was our first time engaging in civic protest and our goal was to emphasize the plight of Palestinian men, women, and children, who are also dying and suffering in Gaza. Our way of doing so was misguided and thoughtless. For example, our badly worded poster was construed to support violence, and we apologize profusely for that. We fully acknowledge the pain of the Jewish people in the U.S., in Israel, and globally, and we regret that our actions added to that pain,” the couple added in their apology note.
Since the incident, the couple has received several threats. “We have learned a valuable lesson about the need to love all as brothers and sisters instead of highlighting disagreements and causing more pain. We unequivocally denounce antisemitism, violence, and terrorism in every form. We apologize from the bottom of our hearts to all those we have offended and caused pain to, especially the global Jewish community, our fellow Americans, and our fellow Indians. We hope that by our future actions and words, we will slowly earn back your trust in our good intentions for all humanity and that you can hopefully see that we are more than our worst actions and mistakes,” the repentant couple said.
