Says phrase was a ‘joke’ about white people, not Jews
A speaker at a recent Emory University anti-Israel rally put up an Instagram post regarding a group of counter-protesters that many are labeling “antisemitic.”
The post (pictured), shows counter-protesters with Israeli flags and reads “Started smelling like pennies on the quad…”
In response to the post, the Emory Student Government Association passed a resolution condemning it, saying its members “were appalled and disheartened to see Antisemitic rhetoric perpetuated in our community.”
“The Jewish community has been subjugated to the stereotype of being ‘greedy’ and ‘penny-pinching’ for centuries, spanning back to the Middle Ages,” the SGA added.
The SGA did not to publish the student’s name out of “safety” concerns, nor did the student paper The Emory Wheel. However, some on X reported the speaker is an Emory resident assistant who uses “they/them” pronouns.
In an email to The Wheel, the student who created the Instagram denied it was antisemitic; instead, the “pennies” phrase refers to white people: “Amongst people of color, it is a common joke toward white people in referring to them smelling like pennies when it rains,” the student said.
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The student said a simple Google search will confirm the meaning of the “joke,” and then apologized “for any unintentional offense” caused.
Emory Rabbi Yaakov Fleshel said that earlier in the week an antisemitic chalking on campus read “They will fill your lungs with gas before a penny leaves their pockets,” according to The Wheel.
The September 12 Emory pro-Hamas rally “echoed” some of last year’s protests, with activists chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”
Rally participants included Emory Students for Justice in Palestine, Emory Stop Cop City, Emory Students for Socialism, and the Emory Divest Coalition.
Speakers said universities refusing to divest from Israel are “complicit” and “repressive,” and they demanded all charges be dropped against students previously disciplined for protest activity.
MORE: Muslim groups: Emory ‘institution of particular concern’ due to treatment of pro-Hamas activists
h/t: Steve McGuire
IMAGE: Eyal Yakoby/X
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