ACLJ Takes Urgent Action: Defending Jewish Law Student Amidst Horrifying Wave of Antisemitism at New York Law School

We’ve all witnessed the surge of antisemitism sweeping across many of our nation’s most prestigious universities since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. Rather than stopping the pro-Hamas protests, enforcing campus policies, and protecting their Jewish students, far too many university administrators have stood by – silent or spineless – effectively emboldening the vile protestors. Our client’s case is a tragic example of that failure – even to the point of ceasing Holocaust Remembrance Day on campus.

We have taken immediate and decisive action in defense of a Jewish law student who has endured relentless, systematic antisemitism at the prestigious New York Law School since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel – the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Our legal team is representing this brave student in high-stakes meetings with the school's lawyers, demanding accountability and fighting for her constitutionally protected right to pursue her legal education without facing vicious discrimination, targeted harassment, or deliberate exclusion based on her Jewish identity and Israeli heritage. We will be there to ensure our client’s rights are respected and antisemitism is taken seriously. We hope that through these meetings, the school’s investigation will uncover and address the antisemitism that has occurred on campus and hold those responsible accountable.

Our Client’s Experience

Our client’s experience reveals a calculated pattern of exclusion and intimidation that no American student should ever face in an institution of higher learning – let alone at a law school that purports to teach justice and equality under the law.

This courageous young woman, whose family faced persecution throughout the Middle East simply for being Jewish, attempted to join the Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association (MENA). She is proudly of Middle Eastern Jewish descent with Israeli heritage.

However, she quickly discovered that MENA deliberately displayed every Middle Eastern flag on their Instagram page EXCEPT Israel’s flag – a clear message that Jews from Israel were not welcome in an organization supposedly representing all Middle Eastern students.

When directly asked about her heritage by MENA members, she felt so threatened and intimidated that she concealed her Israeli identity, mentioning only her Egyptian background. As she later confided to school administrators: “I was too afraid to say Israel. . . . I was not comfortable sharing my identity.”

This confession should send shockwaves through every American who values religious freedom. At an American law school, a Jewish student felt so threatened that she had to hide her identity.

Extensive Documentation of Blatant Antisemitism

Since that horrific day when Hamas terrorists slaughtered innocent Israelis, our client has been subjected to a campus environment at New York Law School that has become increasingly hostile and dangerous for Jewish students.

While our client was reeling from the horror of October 7, official student organizations at her law school were actively celebrating the murderous assault through their official social media channels.

One student group brazenly shared posts glorifying violence with statements, only hours after the attacks, like:

• “Long live the resistance.”
• “Resistance is justified.”
• “Hamas is not a terrorist organization but a resistance group.” (This statement directly contradicts U.S. law, which has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997.)

These organizations deliberately chose to write “I*raelis” with an asterisk – a dehumanizing tactic that treats the very identity of the Israeli people as a repugnant slur.

Shocking Administrative Indifference

Despite our client’s persistent, documented efforts to engage with school administrators over a span of 18 months – from October 2023 to April 2025 – her pleas for protection and equal treatment have been repeatedly minimized, dismissed, or met with halfhearted, ineffective responses:

1. In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attacks, the school’s leadership issued a woefully inadequate statement that failed to explicitly condemn Hamas’ murderous rampage or address the celebration of Jewish deaths by student organizations on campus. While the school had previously been quick to condemn other forms of discrimination, this tepid response spoke volumes.
2. Only after significant pressure from Jewish students did the administration issue a second statement that finally condemned the terrorist attacks – but still failed to establish any meaningful consequences for students or organizations openly glorifying violence against Jews.
3. School administrators suggested that a post stating, “The only thing an Israeli is good at is stealing,” could be considered “political speech” – rather than recognizing it as clear antisemitism.
4. Most disturbing of all, the administration’s attitude toward celebrating Jewish holidays and commemorations noticeably changed after October 7. Our client documented that while the school had previously acknowledged International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it failed to do so after October 7 – a chilling signal about how the administration now viewed the importance of Jewish suffering.

ACLJ Takes Decisive Action

The ACLJ refuses to stand by while Jewish students are targeted for their faith and heritage. Our legal team is engaging directly and forcefully with school administrators, making crystal clear their obligation to protect Jewish students from harassment and discrimination under both federal law and fundamental constitutional principles. Specifically, we are representing our client to ensure that her voice is not only heard but also amplified in the investigation being conducted by the school’s outside counsel. We approach this investigation with the goal that New York Law School will be able to resolve this matter by taking antisemitism on its campus seriously and are hopeful that justice can be done when those responsible for antisemitism are held accountable.

This case represents far more than one student’s experience – it stands at the epicenter of a nationwide crisis that threatens the very foundation of religious liberty in America. The shocking surge in antisemitism on college and university campuses since October 7 has exposed a dangerous double standard in how our educational institutions respond to discrimination.

If Jewish students can be openly harassed, intimidated, and excluded without consequence, then the promise of equal protection under the law becomes meaningless. Either our anti-discrimination laws protect all Americans equally, or they protect none. The First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom is a cornerstone of American liberty. When Jewish students cannot openly practice their faith or express their identity without fear, our constitutional order itself is under assault.

Standing Unwaveringly With Israel and the Jewish People

The ACLJ has always stood firmly and unapologetically with Israel and the Jewish people. We will continue to vigorously defend the rights of Jewish Americans to practice their faith and express their identity without fear or intimidation. We call on all Americans who value religious freedom to join us in standing against antisemitism in all its insidious forms.

Your support enables the ACLJ to deploy our full legal arsenal in defense of students like our client who face religious discrimination. The stakes could not be higher. We ask you to keep this courageous student and our legal team in your prayers as we battle against antisemitism in the halls of legal education. Your prayer support sustains our work daily.