Although the terms of the settlement are confidential, the joint statement indicated that the university will create a new position—that of “Title VI Coordinator”—to oversee how the school responds to complaints of discrimination related to protected characteristics such as race, religion, and national origin.
New York University has settled a federal lawsuit filed by Jewish students who claimed that the school’s administration failed to enforce anti-discrimination policies during a wave of pro-Palestine protests.
According to CNN, the confidential agreement will resolve claims brought on behalf of three students last November. In their complaint, the plaintiffs said that N.Y.U. both breached its own policies and violated their civil rights.
“We are committed to continuing our vigorous efforts to confront discrimination, including antisemitism, and the settlement in this litigation is yet another step in that direction,” N.Y.U. President Linda Mills said in statement.
In a joint statement with the plaintiffs, the university reiterated that it “takes seriously all allegations of discrimination, [and] confirms that N.Y.U. treats all allegations of discrimination against Jews and Israelis in the same manner that it treats conduct prohibited under Title VI and other civil rights statutes when directed at other protected groups.”
The lawsuit, notes CNN, said that the three students—Bella Ingber, Sabrina Maslavi, and Saul Tawil—were, along with their Jewish classmates, subjected to “pervasive acts of hatred, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation.”
Ingber and Maslavi, both juniors and leaders of the Students Supporting Israel organization, claimed that they were participating in a “silent vigil in support of Israel” in Washington Square Park when other students and faculty arrived.
The other students and faculty purportedly shouted antisemitic chants—including “gas the Jews”—burned an Israeli flag, and made “throat-slitting gestures.”
The third plaintiff, Tawil, said that he was called a “dirty” Jew when he attempted to use his smartphone to record several men who had surrounded a female protester expressing support for Israel at the same rally.
Tawil stated that, when he tried submitting a complaint to N.Y.U. administrators, he was told that there was little the school could do. He was then provided resources to obtain “emotional support.”
Although the terms of the settlement are confidential, the joint statement indicated that the university will create a new position—that of “Title VI Coordinator”—to oversee how the school responds to complaints of discrimination related to protected characteristics such as race, religion, and national origin.
The coordinator and the university will, when assessing complaints of discrimination, refer to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. This definition says that “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g. by claiming that the state of Israel is a racist endeavor,” is inherently discriminatory.
Sources
New York University settles lawsuit over antisemitism for undisclosed amount
N.Y.U. Settles Lawsuit by Students Who Claimed Antisemitic Harassment
NYU settles lawsuit filed by 3 Jewish students who complained of pervasive antisemitism
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