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US Commodities Firm Fires Trader Kurush Mistry Over NYC Vandalism of Posters Broadcasting Plight of Hamas Hostages
Fired commodities trader Kurush Mistry makes an obscene gesture after being caught vandalizing posters highlighting the plight of hostages seized by Hamas. Photo: Screenshot
A commodities trader caught on camera vandalizing posters in New York City that highlighted the plight of the more than 200 hostages seized by Hamas during its Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel has been fired from his job.
Kurush Mistry was terminated by the Stamford, CT-based firm Freepoint Commodities as a result of the video, which was filmed on Nov 9. — the 85th anniversary of the infamous “Kristallnacht” pogrom in Nazi Germany — on the corner of 68th Street and Riverside Drive on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The footage showed Mistry and his cohort, Shailja Gupta, wrapping tape around the posters to hide them as they showered the person filming them with foul-mouthed antisemitic abuse along with obscene gestures.
Mistry had been employed by Freepoint for nine years, according to the Financial Times. Previously, he worked for leading banks Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Lehman Brothers.
In a statement confirming Mistry’s dismissal, Freepoint said it was “aware of the recent antisemitic incident reported on social media, and the individual involved is no longer associated with Freepoint.”
It added: “We welcome the diversity of views and opinions held by our employees, but Freepoint does not tolerate discrimination and hate speech directed against any group.”
In the offending video, both Mistry and Gupta show no remorse for their actions while screaming abuse at the Jewish man who filmed them.
When Mistry was asked why he was vandalizing the posters, he responded by displaying his middle finger to the camera, while Gupta — who bills herself on LinkedIn as a “visual artist, film-maker and emerging tech strategic consultant” — tells the Jewish man, “none of your f—ing business dude, f—off.”
Mistry then taunted the man by waving a poster he pulled from his bag that described Israel as an “apartheid state” carrying out a “genocide.” Both Mistry and Gupta told the man that he should “go back to your country, go back to Israel.” When the man replied that he was an American, an increasingly unhinged Gupta answered that she was “also a f—ing American, darling.”
When the man pointed out that “you don’t want my country to exist, so where should I go?” Gupta told him, “you don’t want my f—ing country to exist.” Asked what country she was referring to, Gupta — who like Mistry is an Indian-American — emphatically answered “Palestine.”
When the man said he hadn’t heard of “that country,” Gupta called him a “f—ing uneducated prick.” She then began laughing hysterically, asking rhetorically, “does he even know who is my Dad?” and accusing Jews of being “rapists.”
“I’ve already proved it,” she said, when challenged. “My papers have been published all over.” It was not clear which “papers” she was referring to, or which journals have published her writings.
Commenting on the incident on on X/Twitter, Sonam Mahajan, an Indian-American political analyst, said she wanted to assure her “Jewish friends that Ms. Gupta does not speak for the vast majority of Hindus. She is a vile person who also frequently makes disparaging remarks about Hindus, targeting their religious beliefs.”
She added: “We have no idea who these two are friends with or what their motivations are, but they appear pretty desperate and need to be made accountable for their actions.”
The incident with Mistry and Gupta comes amid growing unease among top executives over hiring individuals who have participated in pro-Hamas demonstrations and activities since the Oct. 7 Hamas atrocities.
A report published by the Anti-Defamation League on Monday recorded 832 outrages targeting American Jews between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7 — an average of 28 incidents per day and a 316 percent increase on the same period in 2022.
.@kurushmistry is a #Nazi, here in the US on a work visa. pic.twitter.com/a4EG8R25jQ
— Irka (@IrkaLive) November 11, 2023
The post US Commodities Firm Fires Trader Kurush Mistry Over NYC Vandalism of Posters Broadcasting Plight of Hamas Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.