NEW YORK — A Muslim leader at a New York City college interfaith event last week accosted the Jewish representative as a “Zionist” responsible for deaths in Gaza and led Muslim students out of the room.

The college said it was aware of the incident and investigating.

The event on Thursday brought together students from different faiths, including Muslims, Jews and Christians, at Manhattan’s City College of New York, part of the City University of New York (CUNY) public system.

The imam delivered a 15-minute speech extolling Islam, saying that Allah was responsible for students’ grades and paychecks.

“He is the ultimate decision-maker, and so Muslims, we are encouraged not to humiliate ourselves to anybody,” the imam said, according to an audio recording of the meeting shared with The Times of Israel. “We sent you a prophet to all of mankind.”

The Jewish representative at the event, Ilya Bratman, said the imam had identified himself as Abdullah, but his full name and affiliation with the university were not clear. The college did not answer questions about the imam and his connection to the university.

The imam interspersed his speech with chanted prayers in Arabic, and promoted sharia law, saying its harsh punishments, such as executions for serious offenses and amputating the “tips of the hands of a thief,” were an effective deterrent against crime.

“I’m talking about the elite, the filthy rich, the ones that continue to steal from people as we speak today. Those are the ones that deserve their tips to be cut off,” he said.

“Sharia, it stands against the oppressor. When shariah is implemented, pornography — gone. Alcohol industry — gone. Gambling system — gone. Interest is gone, which is what they use to enslave you,” he said.

He finished by attacking Bratman, who leads the campus chapter of the Hillel student group and was on the panel.

“I came here to this event not knowing that I would be sitting next to a Zionist and this is something I’m not going to accept. My people are being killed right now in........

© The Times of Israel