Nurse fired for rant against Israelis in Times Square as Spider-Man tries to stop confrontation
Jennifer Koonings, a former psychiatric nurse practitioner and sexual assault forensic examiner, has been fired from a mental health organization after posting a video of herself appearing to harass Israelis in New York City's iconic Times Square.
The video, posted on Koonings' Instagram account, starts with her pointing out a group of men who she calls "baby killers" while they sit in Times Square. The men do not appear to be doing anything or interacting with her. She says in the video that the men are Israeli, then proceeds to ask them if they "killed babies in Palestine" and if they "slaughtered babies," before calling them "terrorists." During the confrontation, Koonings also yells "f--- Israel" at the men.
The men have yet to be publicly identified and there is no indication in the video that they were confrontational or engaged in political activity. The incident appeared to be a verbal confrontation, as no physical altercation is visible in the video.
At one point in the video, a person in a Spider-Man costume attempts to stop the confrontation, telling Koonings that she knows nothing about the strangers and encouraging her to stop harassing them. Koonings says she does know that they're Israeli, again saying that "they are baby killers" before mocking the person dressed as Spider-Man.
Koonings posted the video on Instagram with the caption "make baby k*llers uncomfortable again."
The video caught the attention of the organization StopAntisemitism, who exposed Koonings' background and slammed Inspire Mental Health Services (IMHS), a New York-based mental health provider with which Koonings was affiliated. StopAntisemitism later updated the post, saying that Koonings had been fired from IMHS, something that the agitator confirmed on her own social media.
Seemingly unbothered by the firing, Koonings posted a screenshot of the email alerting her of her "immediate termination" from the organization and wrote, "Nice job zios lol you got me fired from a place I was working like 8 hours a week at & I would still shout BABY KILLERS at IOF MURDERERS again!!!" IOF is an acronym often used by anti-Israel agitators who refer to the Israeli army as the Israel Occupation Forces, rather than the actual name, the Israel Defense Forces.
FLORIDA NURSE URGES CHINA, UK TO ‘ATTACK THE UNITED STATES’ TO REMOVE TRUMP ‘REGIME’ IN VIRAL TIKTOK
"StopAntisemitism’s reporting took this from an isolated incident to a matter of public accountability. The video clearly showed a mental health provider engaging in explicit antisemitic harassment in New York City, conduct fundamentally incompatible with her professional responsibilities," StopAntisemitism founder and Executive Director Liora Rez said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "By bringing widespread attention to it, StopAntisemitism ensured both the public and her employer were forced to confront it. We thank Inspire Mental Health Services for acting swiftly and saying no to hate."
Koonings later posted a follow-up video evidently attempting to explain how she knew that the men were Israeli. In the second video, the men confirm that they're from Israel and almost immediately note Koonings' disapproval. She can be heard off camera asking the men how many babies they have killed and how many women and children they have raped. Throughout the interaction, Koonings hurled insults and accusations at the men, even saying at one point that Israelis were worse than the Nazis and accusing them of creating a Holocaust.
The men mostly remained quiet, though at one point one of them pushed back on Koonings' comments about the Holocaust.
This is not the first time that Koonings has been fired over her anti-Israel views. In 2024, she was fired from Mount Sinai Hospital after doubting the reports of mass rape committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Koonings told Turkey-based news outlet TRT World that she did not regret speaking out, even after losing her job.
Koonings is vocal about her politics on social media, including on her Instagram page where she has 122,000 followers. The health professional often posts videos with criticisms of Israel and U.S. foreign policy.
Contrary to Koonings' claims about mass rape, United Nations investigators have found reasonable grounds to believe that acts of sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, were carried out during the Oct. 7 massacre. Additionally, female and male hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attacks have testified that they faced sexual violence while in captivity.
Koonings has also been involved with CODEPINK, a left-wing anti-war organization that has been critical of Israel. She has recently spoken out against the war with Iran, even saying that the Islamic Republic has grown stronger despite attacks from the U.S. and Israel.
Fox News Digital reached out to Koonings, IMHS, and Mount Sinai Hospital for comment and did not receive responses in time for publication.