Three Jewish students are suing New York University over alleged antisemitism on the school’s lower Manhattan campus.
“NYU has egregiously violated the civil rights of the three Jewish students, who have faced pervasive acts of antisemitic hatred, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation while attending NYU,” the law firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres said in a statement Tuesday.
The suit filed by the firm in the Southern District Court of New York alleges that “for years” the university has violated the 1964 Civil Rights Act by showing “deliberate indifference” toward hostilities impacting Jewish students while protecting the rights of other minority groups.
The problem was dramatically exacerbated after Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli citizens in southern Israel on Oct. 7, sparking a bloody way in the Gaza Strip where Hamas operates, according to the litigants.
Students Bella Ingber, Sabrina Maslavi and Saul Tawil claim they’ve been consistently harassed at school with chants of “Hitler was right” and “gas the Jews.”
“Plaintiffs not only have been deprived of the ability and opportunity to fully and meaningfully participate in NYU’s educational and other programs, but they have suffered and have been put at severe risk of extreme emotional and physical injury,” the lawsuit charges.
The suit singles out newly minted NYU president Linda Mills for allegedly “gaslighting” students who fear they’re being targeted with hate speech. She’s also accused of dismissing a petition signed by 4,000 people affiliated with the school who voiced concern over the issue.
The plaintiffs have requested that the court order NYU to terminate employees and suspend or expel students responsible for the antisemitic abuse, as well as require NYU to pay damages to the students suing the university.
NYU sternly denies the allegations and stands by its efforts to stomp out antisemitism.
“The assertions in this suit do not accurately describe conditions on our campus or the many steps NYU has been taking to fight antisemitism and keep the campus safe,” school spokesperson John Beckman said in a statement. “NYU looks forward to setting the record straight, to challenging this lawsuit’s one-sided narrative, to making clear the many efforts NYU has made to combat antisemitism and provide a safe environment for Jewish students and non-Jewish students, and to prevailing in court.”
