Bella Ingber, Sabrina Maslavi and Saul Tawil said that New York University (NYU) refused to implement anti-discrimination policies that it “willingly applied” to other hateful individuals, allowing slogans such as “Holocaust” and “Hitler was right.”
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan, the freshmen plaintiffs claim that anti-Semitism had been a “growing institutional problem” at NYU even before the Israel-Hamas war broke out last month and that it had only gotten worse since then.
They also said that Jewish students' complaints were "ignored, delayed or dismissed" by NYU administrators including Linda Mills, who became president of the university in July.
According to the lawsuit, this month, Mills dismissed a petition from 4,000 NYU students raising concerns about anti-Semitism, claiming the situation was “overblown” and calling Jewish students “oversensitive.”
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups have become increasingly tense on many university campuses since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said the school takes anti-Semitism and other hateful sentiments “extremely seriously” and was among the first universities to condemn the Hamas attack.
“NYU looks forward to setting the record straight, countering the one-sidedness of this lawsuit, highlighting the efforts NYU has made to combat anti-Semitism, provide a safe environment for Jewish and other students, and prevail in court.”
"Cut throat" gesture
The lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses NYU of violating federal civil rights law and breaching its responsibility to provide the educational environment the plaintiffs expected.
The lawsuit asks NYU to fire several employees, suspend or expel several students who engaged in anti-Semitic behavior, impose administrative fines and pay damages.
NYU claims to serve more than 65,000 students across 20 schools and “takes its role as a social engine seriously.”
But anti-Semitic practices permeate the university, where Ingber and Tawil entered in 2021 and Maslavi enrolled two months ago, according to the lawsuit.
In one incident, Ingber and Maslavi said, while attending an October 17 memorial service for the victims in Israel, they saw several faculty members and students who were members of a pro-Palestinian group burning Israeli flags, making “cut throat” gestures toward Jewish students, and shouting racist epithets.
Tawil said he was ignored when he asked for help after being harassed on the street following the vigil. A campus security officer said security measures were increased following a spate of anti-Asian violence in 2021 and 2022.
“NYU’s willful indifference to the circumstances in which its students face anti-Semitism is utterly reprehensible,” said Marc Kasowitz, the plaintiffs’ attorney.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)
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