A Temple University student on Tuesday defended his part in an antisemitic incident that took place over the weekend at a Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia.
Mo Khan, 21, identified himself as the Temple student who posted a video Saturday of a woman who appears to be a server at Barstool Sansom Street in Center City holding a sign bearing an antisemitic message.
In a video posted Tuesday night on X, Khan lashed out at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish and has repeatedly posted about the incident to his millions of social media followers.
“They have no right to destroy my life over free speech and ultimately something that was an edgy joke,” Khan said in the video. “Frankly, they’re more worried about destroying and uprooting me than the thousands of people getting destroyed and uprooted in genocide.”
“That sign had no effect in terms of killing any Jews. However, Israel kills thousands of people on a daily basis,” he added. “Dave Portnoy and the greater Jewish community are acting as if they are the victims, when this whole time I am the victim.”
After he posted the hateful video of the sign, Khan called himself a citizen journalist and shared information about a GiveSendGo fundraiser he started after the incident. He also urged Portnoy to apologize and asked for restitution.
“He is lynching me, absolutely canceling me in any way possible and ruining my life,” Khan said.
On Tuesday night, Portnoy posted a video on social media accusing Khan of having initially taken responsibility and then backtracked. Portnoy also said he rescinded his offer to Khan and another person involved in the incident to send them to Auschwitz, the notorious German Nazi concentration camp in Poland, to learn about the Holocaust.
“You f---ing antisemitic piece of s---,” said Portnoy, 48. “And I tried to show grace. ... I tried to actually, now I feel dumb, to make it right. And now he does this video, blaming it on me.”
Also Tuesday night, Khan appeared on the internet show "Stew Peters Live" to defend his actions. Peters is known for promoting antisemitic beliefs and misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khan said on the show that he was trying to raise awareness about the Israeli military’s actions in the war in Gaza. The profane banner Khan showcased in his initial video attacked Jews but did not mention Israel or its policies. Many Jews have expressed their opposition to or concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“It was clearly provocative, because it reminds people of what Israel’s actions are doing across the country,” Khan said. “So I recorded it, uploaded it, didn’t expect much backlash.”
Khan also argued that his free speech rights are being violated. The Constitution protects undue regulation on speech by government. Barstool Sports and Temple are private entities.
Philadelphia police, who confirmed Sunday that they were investigating, offered no updates Tuesday. Khan has not been charged with any crime.
Temple University confirmed Sunday that it suspended a student, whom it did not name.
On Wednesday, university President John Fry appeared to condemn Khan's interview on "Stew Peters Live."
"Yesterday, we became aware that a student participated in an interview with a media personality who has a history of producing extreme antisemitic and racist content," Fry said in a statement. "The content of this interview was both appalling and deeply offensive. Antisemitism is not tolerated at Temple."
Fry added that students who are found to be in violation of the university's conduct code could face expulsion.
The Trump administration has sought to strip some universities, including Harvard and Columbia, of federal funding over criticisms that they are not doing enough to combat antisemitism on their campuses.
