A Chicago professor who called Israelis “pigs” and said they should “rot in hell” said he’s sorry after being slammed for antisemitism.

Mika Tosca, who teaches climate science at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday that “Israelis are pigs. Savages. Very very bad people. Irredeemable excrement. The propaganda is downright evil.”

The screed ended with: “May they all rot in hell.”

The post was flagged by StopAntisemitism, which alerted the institute on social media with a post saying, “Your Israeli and Jewish students deserve better than being taught by this hate-filled instructor.”

The transgender professor backpedaled the next day, releasing a statement on social media that said: “Yesterday I wrote some things on my Instagram story that I unequivocally reject and do not stand behind.”

“To the many Israeli and Jewish people who I hurt with my words: I am truly sorry. I own my mistakes and promise to do better. I hope you can forgive me,” said the statement on @trans_icon_mika.

The StopAntisemitism post met with comments such as “fire this individual please,” “fire this racist” and “disgusting.”

The Washington Times has reached out to the institute for comment.

The flap comes with tensions high on college campuses over the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians that killed more than 1,300, prompting Israel to declare war.

The professor’s original post coincided with a widely reported claim by the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry that hundreds of people were killed when Israeli forces bombed a Gaza hospital, an allegation that has since been debunked by U.S. intelligence.

“The Senate Intelligence Committee has received and reviewed intelligence related to the attack on Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Based on this information, we feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike,” said Sens. Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, and Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, in a joint Wednesday statement.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.