Pro-Palestinian students at The New School, where annual tuition costs nearly $60,000, accuse Manhattan College of complicity in the “genocide of the people of Gaza” and demand that it cut ties with an Israeli music conservatory and banish their students on campus.
A chapter of the radical group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) sent an open letter Thursday to the New School administration with a list of tough demands, including a call for university leaders to unequivocally side with the Palestinians and condemn Israel’s actions in response to the October attacks. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
The authors of the ultimatum ominously warned that if their demands were not met by December 1, they would “respond accordingly and by any means necessary,” with the veiled threat written in red letters.
“We have watched as this Administration has remained silent or otherwise dismissive at this time of great loss,” the preamble to the six-page document read in part, “and we remain in the dark as to whether or not our tuition dollars are being used.” used to finance the war of the State of Israel against the Palestinian people.”
A chapter of the group Students for Justice in Palestine sent an open letter Thursday to the New School administration. Robert Miller
One of the four demands listed in the SJP letter was a call for The New School to end its 14-year association with the Israel Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv on the grounds that it is located “on land stolen from the Palestinian people.”
“Israeli universities constitute a key part of the ideological infrastructure of the Israeli colonial regime and produce knowledge that contributes to the subjugation of the Palestinian people,” the letter stated. “We refuse to participate in the erasure of Palestinian identity and demand an end to the partnership between this University and the Israel Conservatory of Music.”
The writers raised a particular issue with The New School’s decision to welcome Israeli students, including former Israel Defense Forces soldiers, after the 2008-2009 Gaza War, known to many Muslims as the “ Gaza massacre.
“The presence of active or inactive Israeli soldiers represents both symbolic and psychological harm to Palestinian students on our campus,” the SJP members fumed.
The SJP letter demanded that the school end its association with an Israeli conservatory in Tel Aviv.Robert Miller
Other demands from the group included pressuring The New School to publicly label Israel as a “settler colony” – rather than a state – that has displaced Palestinians from their lands and enacted a policy of apartheid, and is now involved “in a genocidal campaign against the people of Gaza and the West Bank.”
“Referring to these realities as a ‘war’ is a mistake by sides that simply does not exist,” argued the SJP. “The New School must affirm: this is not war, this is genocide.”
The activists also demanded that The New School administration protect students and teachers from alleged “surveillance and retaliation” for speaking out against Israeli state policy, which they claimed was not “inherently anti-Semitic.”
Student activists called on the school to condemn Israel’s war as “genocide.” Robert Miller
Thursday’s lawsuit came on the heels of a recent decision by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his state’s university system to impose a U.S. ban on local SJP chapters as part of a “crackdown” triggered by the alleged “ support for terrorism” of the group.
The SJP’s national office hailed the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel as “a historic victory for the Palestinian resistance” and called for a “day of resistance” days later, with demonstrations by its sections at more than 200 universities across the country. North America.
On Friday, Columbia University followed suit and suspended its own chapter of the SJP until the end of the fall semester, citing violations of university policies.
The SJP’s final demand was that the private university disclose all its financial ties to Israel through investments in companies that, according to activists, were “known to be complicit in and profiting from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.”
Protesters displayed signs and spoke into megaphones during the demonstration.Robert Miller
In addition to The New School’s SJP chapter, which led the pro-Palestinian campaign on campus, the letter was signed by several other leftist student groups, including the Student Workers Union Organizing Committee, the Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Gender Riot at The New School.
In a statement on Friday, The New School said it was “aware of the letter” and “reviewing” it.
“Maintaining a safe, civil and respectful campus environment is our top priority,” the statement continued. “We unequivocally denounce threats of violence, hatred or harassment against any member of our community.
“The university is committed to the free exchange of ideas and perspectives, while complying with the rules and policies of our university codes of conduct. “We will continue to work with our students, faculty and staff to foster a sense of safety and belonging for all.”
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