Utica Imam Caught on Video Telling Students to “Take Out” Columbia Professor

An imam who is a Resident Scholar at Utica Masjid, a mosque located on Kemble Street in Utica, was discovered during an online strategy video for the upcoming school year, telling student groups to "take out" a controversial pro-Israel professor at Columbia University.

While "imam Tom" Macchine was not specifically telling students to harm Columbia Professor Shai Davidai, who has been critical of the Ivy School's handling of the Palestinian protests on campus and the lack of protection for Jewish students, he certainly said things that could have been interpreted as inciting someone to harm the outspoken professor.

"A professor like that Shai Davidai guy, how do we get him, you know, in trouble, right? What are the ways in which his professorship is sort of tenuous or maybe in jeopardy or at what point will it be in jeopardy - to create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy right, like that might in a particular situation - that might have more impact and might silence -that's what Zionists do - it might silence 100 other professors," Macchine said during the video.

Davidai reported the video to Columbia University and he told The New York Post that "it feels like" he has a target on his back.

Macchine's direction to students seemed to attempt to create an atmosphere where Davidai's mere existence on campus was a liability for the University.

Last Spring, Daidai was barred from campus as the school investigated him after he began going public through interviews, especially on conservative radio, where during one interview he said he would "not send his daughter to Columbia," fearing her safety.

The Professor told the Post that he feels Maccine, who's originally from New Jesery, is

The imam Macchine's mission at Utica Masjid according to its website seems constructive:  Muslim Community Association of Mohawk Valley, also known as Utica Masjid, is a vibrant multi-ethnic community center that serves the local community through religious, educational, and charitable endeavors. The Masjid's very popular YouTube channel also features videos where Macchine discusses Muslim faith, politics of the world, and his call for a cease fire in Gaza.

Watch a video below of Imam Tom speaking at the Muslim Community of Mohawk Valley regarding the Israeli Gaza War.