The University of Miami is investigating a verbal altercation between sophomore influencer Kaylee Mahony and members of the Students Supporting Israel club at the Spring 2026 Involvement Fair on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
In video footage of the exchange, which circulated widely on social media following the fair, Mahony can be heard saying, “Christianity, which says love everyone, meanwhile your Bible says eating with someone who is a non-Jew is like eating with an animal. That’s what the Talmud says.”
Mahony is then seen turning toward passing students and saying, “That’s what these people follow.”
Later in the video, Mahony can be heard raising her voice at one of the SSI members, saying “Because you’re disgusting. It’s disgusting.”
The University of Miami confirmed that it is aware of the incident and is investigating it thoroughly.
“We strongly support our student’s rights to freedom of expression. However, we understand lines can be crossed,” the University said in a statement to The Hurricane. “As such, the University has proactive policies in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all students.”
Freshman Ella Leon, a student tabling for SSI when the altercation occurred, said that Mahony initially approached the table, walked away briefly, then turned back and shouted, “Free Palestine.”
As the altercation continued, a member of the Committee on Student Organizations approached the table to de-escalate the situation. However, instead of complying, Leon claims that Mahony turned to [the COSO member] and said, “This is typical Jewish behavior. This is how Jews always act.”
Leon explained that SSI welcomes any kind of political dialogue, but that Mahony’s comments were not political and instead focused on Judaism as a whole.
“Nothing that was said, besides maybe two sentences at the beginning of the conversation, had to do with the flag on our table, with anti-Zionism, nothing of that nature. This was, literally, purely to talk about Judaism and for her to kind of like dehumanize it,” Leon said. “I’ve experienced many, many different forms of antisemitism. Never in my life have I experienced something that was so prolonged, aggressive and completely detached from the reason that [SSI was] there.”
Other students in the area felt similarly. Alta Gniwisch, a Chabad intern who does not attend UM, was sitting at a nearby table and started to record when Mahony began to raise her voice. She said that Mahony’s comments were “outwardly hateful and rude.”
Gniwisch also explained that many of Mahony’s comments about the Talmud and Judaic culture were untrue.
“The Talmud is known to be a book that you can’t take at face value,” she said. “You have to interpret it in a very different way because obviously it was written many many many years ago when circumstances were so different.”
According to Bible Odyssey, the Talmud is a collection of oral teachings and debates created by rabbinic scholars in 70 CE. It addresses nearly every aspect of Jewish life 1,500 years ago, interpreting biblical texts and traditions within their historical context.
“Only if you are open to studying it in the proper way then you could understand it properly, but if you’re looking at it at face value then there are a lot of things that may seem confusing,” Gniwisch said.
Ariela Jaimovich, a sophomore who witnessed the altercation, described Mahony’s comments as a “blatant display of antisemitism.”
“I’ve seen Israel controversy on campus in the past, but this case was just pure antisemitism and hatred,” she said. “Hopefully, the school can take action to prevent this from happening again in the future.”
Mahony was terminated from her role as the head of public relations for the UM College Republicans after this altercation.
Mahony’s Linkedin also lists that she serves as the Social Media Chair for Turning Point Miami, a branch of Charlie Kirk’s nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics. However, according to a post on Jan. 29 by @StopAntisemites’s X account, Mahony is “no longer affiliated” with the organization.
She had more than 125K followers on TikTok, posting videos that often took anti-Israel, anti-immigration and anti-Democrat stances. Her account was banned in the days following the altercation and shows as “no longer available.”
It is unclear if UM was aware of Mahony’s social media presence before this incident. The University did not answer The Hurricane’s multiple inquiries regarding social media screening during the admissions process.
A senior student in Hillel who wishes to remain anonymous expressed confusion that UM had not noticed Mahony’s social media presence sooner.
“It has been really disappointing to see one of my peers so openly antisemitic, including her TikTok bio saying she’s a ‘proud goy,’ which has been used as a derogatory term for non-Jews,” the student said. “I’m not sure how the school hasn’t noticed this sooner.”
Despite the altercation, Leon said she still feels safe as a Jewish person on UM’s campus.
“The reason I chose this University was because, as a Jewish student in times where antisemitism is rising very very high, I never found a place that I felt more safe than this school,” Leon said. The school just does such a great job at creating an environment where people really feel included.”
Kayla Singer contributed to the reporting of this article.