Kenneth Foster, 57, was reportedly caught on video earlier this month verbally abusing an unidentified Jewish woman who had been waving an Israeli flag on a Manhattan street.
According to the New York Post, Foster can be heard saying, “F*** Israel and f*** you too” in the clip. In addition, he allegedly remarked that he has “the right to say what the f*** [he] wants [as he is] American.”
When interviewed by the paper, Foster claimed that the incident occurred when the woman’s flag “almost hit” him while he was walking down Columbus Avenue with his mother on November 11th.
Furthermore, it is suggested in an Instagram post featuring the clip of Foster that he was also seen intimidating and harassing Jews who were hanging posters of kidnapped hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th, however, Foster stated that he was unaware of any such posters.
“I stated, ‘Why are you waving that flag that is part of an apartheid state?’” Foster told the Post. “So she got mad, like they mostly always do when you talk about Israel. I said, ‘F you’ and ‘F Israel.’ I didn’t say nothing about Jews to her … now I have to defend myself.”
Foster added to the paper that he has nothing against Jewish people and should have “just walked away.”
“I’m against oppression of anybody because I’m black, so I know what oppression is,” he added to the Post.
Foster informed the paper that he has been employed by the MTA for 36 years, and the Post reported that his annual salary is just over $143,000 for overseeing track maintenance and construction.
The paper additionally mentioned Foster had posted pro-Palestinian messages on his public Facebook page starting from October 7th.
In response to this news, an MTA spokesman declared to the Post that they have “zero tolerance for hate or discrimination” and are currently conducting an investigation to determine all facts.
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Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
