New York Attorney Keeps Job After Being Caught Tearing Down Israeli Hostage Posters

Posters of some Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza are displayed on a pole outside of New York University on Oct. 30, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The New York County trial attorney who triggered online outrage for ripping down posters featuring kidnapped Israeli children will get to keep her job, her employer said.

Victoria Ruiz, a member of the New York County Defenders Services (NYCDS), was filmed removing some of the posters put up by pro-Israeli activists across New York City in their efforts to raise public awareness of the brutal killing and kidnapping spree that Hamas terrorists unleashed in southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks.

In a 17-second video clip, a woman identified to be Ms. Ruiz was repeatedly asked by the person recording her, “Why are you taking down pictures of missing children? Why you taking down pictures of babies?” She ignored those questions and walked away.

The clip has been viewed more than 6 million times since it was shared to X on Sunday by the activist group StopAntisemitism. It has also led to an online petition and numerous calls demanding that the attorney be fired over her alleged biases.

“The role of a defender requires impartiality and respect for all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances,” the petition read, claiming that the attorney was showing “biased behavior” and that she may not be capable of fulfilling her duties “effectively and without prejudice.”

In a statement to media, a spokesperson for the NYCDS said the organization was aware of Ms. Ruiz’s actions.

“It has come to our attention that one of our attorneys, Victoria Ruiz, recently attended a public vigil solely in her capacity as a private citizen,” the statement read. “Some of her actions at the event have drawn sharp criticism and we strongly condemn them as highly insensitive.”

Although Ms. Ruiz has yet to issue any public apology, she has apologized to her colleagues and promised to “do better” in the future, according to NYCDS.

“Ms. Ruiz has apologized to those who were hurt or confused by her actions,” the organization said. “After an internal review, and a pledge by all involved to do better, we accept this apology and now refocus on the vigorous pursuit of our mission: achieving justice and dignity for every individual we represent.”

Ms. Ruiz could not be immediately reached for comment.

Viewpoints Clash

This is not the first filmed incident of a New Yorker being confronted for vandalizing Israeli posters.

Earlier this month, a Brooklyn man was arrested after he clashed with people who tried to block him from pulling Israeli posters down from a utility pole on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Mohamed Khalil, 21, was charged with harassment, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and obstruction on Nov. 1, according to the New York Police Department’s hate crimes task force.

In a video posted to X, several people can be seen standing between the pole and Mr. Khalil, who was wearing a Palestinian-style scarf made popular in the 1960s during the nationalist movement led by the Arab nationalist and socialist Yasser Arafat. They then tried to keep distance between him and the pole. The police eventually arrived and arrested Mr. Khalil.

In another intense encounter caught on camera, an angry construction worker jumped into action after seeing a man tearing down the hostage posters taped to light posts in the borough of Queens. The clip has garnered over 11 million view on X in less than two weeks.

“This is a free country, you can wave your Palestine flag and say death to the Jews or America whenever you want,” the worker yelled at the poster-tearing man. “But we can put up signs, okay?”

After being hailed on social media as a hero, the worker explained in another video that he simply “didn’t like what he saw.”

“I’m just a regular guy who didn’t like what I saw,” he said. “What I did shouldn’t be celebrated. It should be normal. Every one should react like that.”

“It shouldn’t be a news story that someone doesn’t like posters of murdered children, kidnapped children, being taken down,” he continued. “This should be the norm, not the exception.”