Jewish NYC College Students Sue Over Viral Israel-Hamas Protest

NEW YORK CITY — The Cooper Union did nothing to stop a wave of antisemitism that led to a viral protest in which Jewish students huddled in a library from a crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, a new federal lawsuit contends.

Ten Orthodox Jewish students argued in a civil complaint filed Tuesday that their protesting peers at the Lower Manhattan college had advocated for the destruction of Israel and violence against Jews in the U.S.

Those Jewish students had looked to gather quietly in the school's library, away from a "jarring demonstration" two weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, the lawsuit contends.

"Instead, they soon found themselves trapped inside the School library as the mob chanting hateful slogans attempted to enter, rattling the library doors and then pounding on the floor-to-ceiling windows, through which the mob could see the Jewish Plaintiffs in Orthodox Jewish dress," the lawsuit states.

"The scene, which was publicized globally on television and social media, became a symbol of virulent antisemitism on college campuses."

A spokesperson for The Cooper Union declined to comment on pending litigation.

Viral video from the protest had indeed become a symbol to what some believe is rising antisemitism on college campuses, where many students have taken the stance that Israel's military and political reaction to the Hamas attacks has led to the disproportionate deaths of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

New York City itself has been the staging ground of many pro-Palestinian demonstrations that many Jewish city dwellers have joined to protest the continued war and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

But the Cooper Union students and their attorneys with The Lawfare Projects, as well as Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, argue protest chants — including "Hey hey, ho ho, Israel has got to go" — and posters spread across campus were antisemitic threats of violence.

The situation escalated to the incident in the library, in which demonstrators stood outside while the Jewish students huddled inside, the lawsuit contends.

"The demonstrators began pounding on the glass and continued their hateful chants," the lawsuit states.

"Inside the library, some of the Plaintiffs cried. Plaintiffs feared for their safety, feeling targeted by a mob that was openly advocating for violence against Jews and the eradication of their ancestral homeland. Plaintiffs were shocked that they would find themselves in such a situation on their own college campus, and they were bewildered and disappointed that the School had failed to prevent the incident and was doing nothing to stop it."

A top NYPD official, after the protest, disputed any suggestion that the students were in danger.

"There was no direct threat, there was no damage and there was no danger to any students at that school," said Chief of Patrol John Chell.

"The students were not barricaded," he said. "The doors were open but closed."