Professor Watchlist

Ms. Taryn Fivek is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Economics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. According to her university biography, her scholarship focuses on, “uneven economic and geographic development, financialization, neoliberalism, state power, and crisis.” A belligerent activist, she frequents protests across the city and is a representative of the Workers World Party (WWP).

Formed in 1959, the WWP is a Marxist political party that draws direct inspiration from the Bolshevik Revolution and Soviet Commissar, Leon Trotsky. The organization was formed in 1959 as a more radical alternative to the existing socialist and communist parties at the time. Staunchly anti-American, the WWP frequently rushes to the defense of the North Korean dictatorship, even going so far as to claim the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea offers women more rights than Western Nations. 

Ms. Fivek echoes the WWP’s praise for dictators and authoritarian regimes in speeches before the party’s membership. During one meeting, she fondly recalled her attendance at a Venezuelan conference with Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro while praising the socialist revolution that swept over the country. A separate Buzzfeed report identified Ms. Fivek as the anonymous author of a blog and associated Twitter handle that defended Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Assad, who is known for brutally torturing and murdering his own citizens.

The WWP further deploys its activists as a contingent of larger protests across the nation. The group is in regular attendance for the riots that topple Confederate statues across the South. WWP members additionally took part in the protests that later became known as the “J20 Riots.” Descending on Washington DC in January of 2016, the WWP and other ANTIFA-affiliated groups trashed business, burned cars, and caused hundreds of thousands in damages in the attempt to disrupt the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Ms. Fivek has openly acknowledged her own participation alongside WWP in the destruction. In a video posted a week after the inauguration, she details the party’s operations on the ground while vowing to continue fighting “every f***ing day” until they “overthrow this killer system”:

 

Ms. Fivek routinely denounces capitalism and western nations at large in other speeches at WWP meetings. Delivering one such lecture, beneath a Soviet hammer and sickle, Ms. Fivek commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution and lauds the Communist Party’s alleged contributions to world progress. She encourages the members in attendance to draw inspiration from the Soviets in order to “smash white supremacy, abolish capitalism, and immediately implement socialism.”

 

Despite her praise, the Bolshevik Revolution and the subsequent rise of the Soviet Union cost tens of millions of lives. After overthrowing the Russian government in the fall of 1917, Vladimir Lenin immediately set up a series of concentration camps, or “gulags” for political prisoners, and led the Soviet secret police in a brutal crackdown—referred to as the “Red Terror”—against dissidents and political opponents. As many as one million perished before the carnage ended with the cessation of the Russian Civil War in 1921. As many as 60 million people perished before the total dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Representing the WWP in a separate 2017 protest, Ms. Fivek condemns President Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. During her remarks, Ms. Fivek lauds the “Palestinian Vanguard’s” violent resistance against Israel, even going as far as to praise Palestinian children for participating in the struggle. She further derides Israel as, “some Zionist entity” heading the biding of globalists and big banks.

 

Towards the conclusion of her tirade, Ms. Fivek leads the crowd in chanting, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.” The slogan was popularized by terrorist groups such as the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The phrase alludes to the destruction of Israel—and thus the genocide of the nation’s Jews—between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The slogan is thought to originate from the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan el-Banna, who was quoted by The New York Times stating, “If the Jewish state becomes a fact, and this is realized by the Arab peoples, they will drive the Jews who live in their midst into the sea.”

The full video of Ms. Fivek’s remarks is available below.

 

The Professor Watchlist Team reached out to Ms. Fivek for comment but has not received a reply by the time of publication.

 

Students and Parents may contact John Jay College at (212) 237-8000

 

Updated – November 30th, 2021