NYU is split: A campus divided over Israel's war in Gaza

The war in Gaza has sparked strong feelings at NYU in New York, where the conflict has become a daily flashpoint of tension between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian students.

In mid-November, the NYU Israel Alumni Club based in Tel Aviv severed ties with NYU over concerns about antisemitism on campus, student safety, and the presence of NYU SJP (NYU Students for Justice in Palestine) on campus. A week later, about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters, NYU SJP, and other organizations on campus protesters staged a demonstration in NYU’s central hub of Washington Square Park, demanding that the university shut down its Tel Aviv campus, advocate for a ceasefire and protect pro-Palestinian speech. 

On campus, scenes of students avoiding one another in the halls, ripped Israeli hostage posters, and the online public shaming of students have become commonplace.

This has led to a university at which political boundaries have become social boundaries as students, faculty, and alumni cut ties ties with one another. Pro-Palestinian activists demand a termination of ties with NYU Tel Aviv, while the NYU Israel Alumni Club calls for decisive action against antisemitism on campus. Jewish students find themselves “caught in the middle,” trying to reconcile their identities with their social lives.

Annabel Parker, a senior at NYU, says that she is caught in the middle between her identity and her friends.

“I tend towards the side of peace and equality, yet I am not progressive enough for a lot of the people I’ve considered friends, so I have lost numerous friends who I’ve actually been quite close with,” she told The Jerusalem Report.

Numerous incidents across campus reflect this polarized environment, where choosing sides has meant the loss of any middle ground in dialogue. There are frequent protests and often tense encounters between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups. The university’s location in the midst of Washington Square Park, historically a hub for student protests, has intensified these clashes.

Parker found herself marching in a protest where she saw friends on both sides of the conflict yelling and screaming at each other. For Parker, the middle ground has been lost.

“I am not radically pro-Palestine enough because I think that Israel should exist, and I am not radically Zionist enough because I think that Gaza and its people shouldn’t be obliterated,” she said.

At the same protest, a non-NYU associated anti-Israel protester held up a sign depicting the Star of David in a trash can which went viral in NYU social media circles. Parker said that anti-Jewish sentiment, along with the spread of extremist ideology and chants, have been common at these protests. 

“I want to show my support, but I’m not going to say, ‘From the river to the sea,’” referring to the now common pro-Palestinian slogan.

Amid escalating tensions, the NYU Israel Alumni Club reached out to administration and consulted with Jewish students about antisemitism on campus. After many hard discussions, the organization decided to cut ties with the university, citing a perceived lack of action in addressing antisemitism, according to Steven Aiello, a member of the NYU Alumni Club in Israel leadership team. 

“We were looking at what other universities were doing and seeing that action could be taken,” Aiello said. 

Other schools such as Columbia and Brandeis have suspended pro-Palestinian organizations such as the SJP, with former Harvard president Claudine Gay condemning the chant “From the river to the sea.”

Many NYU Israel alumni demanded to know why their school hasn’t enforced policies regarding antisemitism. In some cases, Jewish students said they didn’t feel safe on campus.

“Students were told to leave through back entrances and exits from buildings and to avoid certain parts of campus on certain days,” Aiello said.

How will NYU combat Israel-Hamas war tensions on campus?

The university administration has responded to the tension on campus by releasing a plan to combat both antisemitism and Islamophobia. The plan cites the handling of over 90 cases of conflict-related student conduct that have led to serious repercussions and even the suspension of students. This plan emphasizes increased security measures, additional training for campus security, and policy updates emphasizing non-discrimination, specifically denouncing calls for genocide.

However, antisemitism can also take nuanced forms, said junior Tali Dardashtian, “where people use humanitarian ideas and political ideas to mask antisemitism.” This evolving definition of antisemitism has been a concern for some on campus, as many people question if the line between being pro-Palestinian and supporting terrorism has been crossed. This is not surprising, as chants such as “Globalize the intifada” and “From the river to the sea” have become commonplace on campus.

The NYU Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a significant pro-Palestinian group on campus, has been highly engaged in hosting seminars, protests, and sit-ins. Their key demand revolves around advocating for a complete severance of ties between NYU-New York and NYU Tel Aviv. This stance extends to supporting suspended students, such as Hafiza Khalique, notably involved in removing Israeli hostage posters on campus. 

This fervent activism against NYU Tel Aviv has been at the focal point of their campaign due to NYU’s unique global program, where many NYU study abroad programs and facilities are conducted and operated solely by NYU. This is in contrast with most study abroad programs in the US, where students are temporarily enrolled at a partner university. 

The NYU Tel Aviv Academic Center, established in 2009 in the northern neighborhood of Tel Aviv, is a satellite study abroad campus. Since its inception, NYU Tel Aviv has been controversial and the subject of academic boycotts – such as by the entire academic wing of the Social and Cultural Analysis Department. 

Ever since October 7, discussions of ending cooperation with NYU Tel Aviv have been propelled into the spotlight, as many groups on campus have been using it as a focal point of their protest. They say that Palestinians whose families have been expelled from Israel in 1948 or 1967 would not be able to obtain Israeli visas to study in Tel Aviv. That would violate the university’s Code of Ethical Conduct.

NYU Tel Aviv Director Benjamin Hary said that these claims are false.

“NYU Tel Aviv has not had one visa refusal in its 13 years of existence,” he said, and that includes students that were Palestinian and had Lebanese and Syrian passports. 

Hary explained that NYU Tel Aviv is not affiliated or funded by the Israeli government. The site does not aim to promote the Israeli government but to promote Jewish-Arab cooperation. 

The NYU Tel Aviv program includes trips to Palestinian villages, Israeli-Palestinian dialogue events, and even a course about the Israeli and Palestinian conflict taught by one Palestinian and one Israeli professor. 

Meanwhile, life at NYU has become strained as students find their identities entangled in a conflict thousands of miles away. The university, usually a vibrant center for learning, now grapples with intense pressure and division from all angles. In this climate of heightened tension, connections among students, alumni, and faculty have fractured, leaving little space for mutual understanding and dialogue.■