JPMorgan employee on leave, under investigation after tearing down Israeli hostages poster

NEW YORK CITY (TND) — A JPMorgan Chase employee is on leave after video surfaced on social media of her tearing down a poster of Israeli hostages, the company told The National Desk (TND) Thursday.

The clip, shared by Jewish advocacy group StopAntisemitism, depicts a woman peeling an image of missing Israeli hostages off a light post in New York City. Audio in the video contains the words “you can go now” and “I don’t want you here.”

The group identified the woman as Shelby Edwards, a member of JPMorgan’s private equity division.

We do not tolerate violence, hate, divisiveness or discrimination,” a company spokesperson told TND Thursday. “When we receive reports of such behavior or any action that does not align with our Code of Conduct, we initiate an investigation immediately and have done so in this case. The employee has been put on immediate leave while we investigate the matter.”

Liora Rez, the founder and executive director of StopAntisemitism, told TND the group wants to "acknowledge and thank" JPMorgan Chase for "quickly stepping in."

"However, the larger question remains: why did it take our organization highlighting this employee for her employer to act? This is not the first instance of antisemitism from a JP Morgan employee." Rez said. "Esteemed businesses like JPMorgan must thoroughly vet their employees to ensure that Jew-hatred is eradicated from the workplace.”

Anti-Israel sentiments continue to surge in the U.S. as the Israel-Hamas war drags on in the Middle East. President Joe Biden this month defended a heckler who told him he was “complicit in genocide” while speaking at a gun safety event at George Washington University.

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“Folks, it’s okay,” Biden told the crowd as the heckler was escorted out. “Look, they care. Innocent children have been lost. They make a point.”

Demonstrators in March interrupted the president during a campaign rally about healthcare by shouting "what about the healthcare in Gaza?” After Biden told them “everybody deserves healthcare,” they yelled that “hospitals in Gaza are being bombed" and "you are complicit in genocide.”

The president also acknowledged that they “have a point” and there needs to be more care in Gaza.

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