A pro-Israel student leader at Brandeis University has been deluged with threats following his exposure of a fellow student who expressed support for the violent execution of two New York City police officers.
Brandeis student Daniel Mael has been criticized in recent days after he exposed the tweets of fellow student leader Khadijah Lynch, who had endorsed on Twitter the execution-style murder of two NYPD officers.
"i have no sympathy for the nypd officers who were murdered today," Lynch publicly tweeted before locking her account.
Brandeis officials immediately distanced the school from Lynch’s comments, calling them "hurtful and disrespectful."
After Mael’s article about Lynch’s controversial tweets went viral, he became the target of a campaign by progressive Brandeis leaders to see him suspended from the university, or worse, according to those familiar with the situation.
Students sympathetic to Lynch are now trying to ensure that Mael is suspended or expelled from Brandeis as a result of his article.
Brandeis officials told the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday that they are working with law enforcement to address threats against those on campus.
"We have been in touch with law enforcement regarding the threats," a Brandeis University spokesman told the Free Beacon. "Out of respect for the privacy and security of the students, and as not to impede any investigation, we cannot provide additional details."
Brandeis director of public safety Ed Callahan directed requests for comment about the issue to a university spokesman.
Brandeis students sympathetic to Lynch have been sending emails to each other in order to form a campaign aimed at getting Mael suspended or expelled.
"As you may have been made aware, the safety of one member of the Brandeis community, Khadijah Lynch, has been compromised by the actions of another Brandeis student, Daniel Mael," students wrote in one email forwarded to many at Brandeis.
"Those of us within the Brandeis community who value the safety and integrity of all members of our community are requesting that action is taken to hold this student accountable for his actions, which have directly put Khadijah in danger and continue to do so," the email says.
Mael, who is Jewish, has been accused of being a racist and being in bed with white supremacists since he wrote about Lynch’s public tweets.
"I need to get my gun license. Asap," Lynch tweeted after Mael had contacted for comment about her tweets.
Brandeis students have taken to Facebook and other places to express anger towards Mael.
"Apparently I was in class all semester with a racist piece of shit," one student posted on her Facebook account.
Mael himself has called for calm on all sides as the controversy over Lynch’s tweets grows.
"Any threats made against Khadijah Lynch are repulsive and morally reprehensible," Mael wrote on his Facebook page. "What Lynch wrote was vile and so to are some of the threats made against her. It must stop. Now."
"We must overcome vicious hatred through real dialogue and a strong commitment to a better future," Mael wrote.
This does not appear to have appeased progressive activists seeking retribution.
"It is unfathomable to many within the Brandeis community that such an action could have been carried out with anything but malicious intent, as contributors to websites are perfectly aware of the following their websites receive," activists wrote in an email. "As a journalist, he must be aware of the impact that publishing such articles could have on other people's safety, and it is important that he be held accountable for his actions."
Some have compared the campaign to discredit Mael to a recent controversy over Brandeis’ decision to cancel a speech by international human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.