A masked protester, displaying anti-Israel sentiments, was filmed spitting on a banner that read "Jewish" during a demonstration outside the library of New York University (NYU) on Thursday.
The individual's identity remains unknown. The protest, held outside the Bobst Library at Washington Square, was organized to urge NYU to terminate its study abroad program in Tel Aviv, in response to Israel's actions against Hamas in Gaza.
The footage, shared by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism, shows the protester, clad in a black ski mask and leather gloves, with a large silver cross around his neck, carrying a large sign that reads "Jewish White Supremacy," with a Star of David in the center.
The protester rips off the word "Jewish" from the sign, discards it on the ground, and spits on it. This act provokes a shocked bystander to label him a "Nazi bastard."
"Wow, that really just solved something," a man sarcastically comments off-camera. "World peace achieved," another adds, ironically applauding the hateful act. One of the spectators dares the pro-Palestine protester to "take the mask off," branding him a "coward." In response, the masked man lowers his mask and spits again on the discarded "Jewish" sign. "Do it on me! I'm Jewish," an incensed bystander retorts.
As distant chants are heard, the masked protester raises his fist in the air, drawing comparisons to the Nazi salute from his critics. "He's heiling Hitler," one observer notes, while another directly addresses the protester, admonishing him: "you're literally a neo-Nazi. You gotta stop it."
As the protester prepares to leave with his anti-Israel sign, one of the horrified bystanders shouts after him: "your own mother is ashamed of you; your ancestors are ashamed of you." In a caption accompanying the video, StopAntisemitism described the behavior as "nothing short of horrifying Nazi-like rhetoric of 1933 Germany."
The protester's affiliation with NYU, if any, remains unclear. During the Thursday rally, approximately 100 students and faculty, including members of Shut it Down NYU, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Faculty for Justice in Palestine, congregated outside the university's main library. They demanded that NYU cancel its study abroad program in Israel, as reported by Washington Square News, NYU's independent student newspaper.
The demonstrators were heard chanting, "shut down sites where students are banned, Tel Aviv is stolen land," while some 20 Campus Safety and NYPD officers observed. A smaller group of counter-protesters assembled on the fringes of the main rally, waving Israeli flags and carrying signs featuring photos of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack.
John Beckman, an NYU spokesperson, stated that the university has no plans to terminate its study abroad program in Israel. "As to the demands from the demonstrators that NYU close the NYU Tel Aviv site the university rejects those demands," Beckman said in a statement.
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests have become increasingly common on US college campuses since the onset of the war in the Middle East. Concurrently, there has been a rise in acts of vandalism involving the removal of posters demanding the return of Israeli hostages, along with an increase in antisemitic rhetoric online.
During a meeting with Jewish students from Baltimore-area colleges on Thursday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona expressed his shock and horror at incidents of antisemitism on campuses. Cardona revealed that his department is drafting a letter to guide university leaders in their efforts to protect students from discrimination.
"I want to tell you, we've got your back," Cardona assured the students gathered at Towson University. "The Department of Education is going to do everything we can to make sure you're safe on campus."
Login