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A law student at the University of Florida who publicly called for Jews to be “abolished by any means necessary,” praised Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, claimed that Jews “occupy the whole American government,” and argued the U.S. Constitution applied solely to white people was honored by the university with a prestigious academic award — sparking outrage from students, faculty, and the broader Jewish community.
Shortly after receiving the award, Damsky launched a public account on X (formerly Twitter), where he posted a barrage of antisemitic, white supremacist, and neo-Nazi content. In one post, he attempted to justify antisemitism as a natural response to Jews’ alleged “hostile and damaging” behavior toward non-Jews, accusing Jews of “bad faith, nepotistic scheming” and seeking “social dominance over their Gentile hosts.”
In another, he wrote: “Supporting this regime means one must… acquiesce to or actively serve Jewish adults who are occupying the whole American government.”
My position on Jews is simple: whatever Harvard professor Noel Ignatiev meant by his call to “abolish the White race by any means necessary” is what I think must be done with Jews. Jews must be abolished by any means necessary.
— Preston Damsky (@preston_terry_) March 21, 2025
Supporting this regime means one must express histrionic outrage over Muslim kids occupying American university buildings, while at the same time acquiescing to or actively serving Jewish adults who are occupying the whole American government.
— Preston Damsky (@preston_terry_) March 29, 2025
Damsky also openly praised Iran for launching missiles at Israel and expressed support for the Tehran regime’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons, asserting: “Iran… absolutely [has] the right — and duty — to acquire nuclear weapons.”
Iran’s government exists in the same neighborhood as the genocidal Jewish gangster entity currently exterminating the Palestinian people through sustained military bombardment and blockade facilitated by the US. They absolutely have the right—and duty—to acquire nuclear weapons.
— Preston Damsky (@preston_terry_) June 17, 2025
In a particularly chilling post, Damsky shared an official Israel Defense Forces map showing the locations of incoming Iranian missiles — and used it to mock Israeli civilians taking shelter, writing: “Please, don’t run.”
Please, don’t run. https://t.co/UBfRxd6sqj
— Preston Damsky (@preston_terry_) June 14, 2025
He further declared: “I support Iran in their just fight against the Jewish gangster entity. The Jews are the genocidal aggressors… Iran deserves our country’s diplomatic and material support.”
The University of Florida Law School’s interim dean, Merritt McAlister, initially defended Damsky’s award under the principle of “institutional neutrality,” stating that the school must avoid “viewpoint discrimination.” Critics, however, argued this defense allowed blatant hate speech to masquerade as academic freedom — and emboldened Damsky to escalate.
Dr. Carliss Chatman, a visiting law professor, noted the contrast between the administration’s defense of Damsky’s white supremacist paper and the administration’s censorship of her own proposed course, “Race, Entrepreneurship and Inequality,” which was renamed by school officials before being added to the catalog. “We should not be giving awards to things that advocate for white supremacy and white power,” she said.
Following mounting pressure and growing media scrutiny, the university suspended Damsky and issued a three-year trespass order on April 3, barring him from campus. However, administrators have not explained why the award was granted in the first place — or why disciplinary action only came after online calls for genocide.
The University of Florida hosts the largest Jewish undergraduate population of any public university in the United States, with more than 6,500 Jewish students. In a statement, University of Florida Hillel condemned the university’s handling of the case:
“There is no place at UF for this type of hateful rhetoric. We are grateful that the university responded by suspending the student, barring him from campus, increasing police presence around the law school, and initiating disciplinary proceedings aimed at expulsion.”
