A pro-Palestinian group slipped fake eviction notices under the doors of around 2,000 NYU undergrads on Thursday in what Jewish students and groups are calling an anti-Semitic stunt. "We regret to inform you that your suite is scheduled for demolition in three days," read the notes distributed by NYU Students for Justice in Palestine in the Palladium and Lafayette dorms. "If you do not vacate the premise by midnight on 25 April, 2014, we reserve the right to destroy all remaining belongings. Charges for demolition will be applied to your student accounts."
The flyers, which the group stated were replicas of notices routinely left at the homes of Palestinians by the Israeli government, clearly state, "This is not a real eviction notice" at the bottom. But that didn't stop some students from freaking out: "A lot of people felt transgressed upon because they felt threatened by it," sophomore Hunter Goet told the Post. "They felt like their housing was being threatened. It was a massive source of panic."
Even though the group says they weren't targeting Jews in particular, Palladium is believed to be the NYU dorm with the most Jewish residents (they have a special elevator for Shabbat as well). "Being very straightforward, this made me feel targeted and unsafe in my own dorm room and I know others feel exactly the same as myself," one Jewish student told Times Of Israel. "I understand free speech rights but if this was targeted solely to Jewish students then this appears to be of a more threatening nature rather than informative."
"It's an attack on the Jewish community," sophomore Laura Adkins, a pro-Israel activist, told the News. "It's specifically targeting Jewish students, which makes them feel not so safe."
NYU spokesman Josh Beckman said the school is investigating the incident: "It is disappointingly inconsistent with standards we expect to prevail in a scholarly community,” he said. "Were it to be the case that the fliering was done [at Palladium] because it was perceived to be a dorm with a higher proportion of Jewish students, that would be troubling, dismaying and a matter of deep concern for our community," Beckman added.
The Anti-Defamation League condemned the action in a statement:
Mock eviction notices are a disturbing tactic designed to silence and intimidate pro-Israel advocates on campuses around the country rather than promote meaningful dialogue. While students have a right to express their views on campus, targeting students in their residence halls is an unsettling intrusion.
We appreciate that NYU’s administration has spoken out against such hateful actions, and we urge them to take steps to reassure students that their personal space is secure.
The anti-Israel activists who passed out these notices are creating tension, intimidating students and fostering a hostile atmosphere on campus. The academic environment should be a place where constructive dialogue and discourse about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can thrive.
Here's the full statement from NYU Students for Justice in Palestine explaining the incident:
Over 2,000 students at New York University received mock eviction notices on the morning of April 24th. Every resident in the Lafayette and Palladium residence halls was told to evacuate their dorm, which would be demolished within three days. The flyers were clearly fake - with the words “THIS IS NOT A REAL EVICTION NOTICE” scrawled across the bottom - yet they are grounded in a disturbing reality: since 1967, approximately160,000 Palestinians have received similar notices, only to witness their homes destroyed by Israeli forces shortly after. The purpose of this action, led by New York University’s Students for Justice in Palestine, was to draw attention to this reality Palestinians face daily.
Through its policy of housing demolitions, Israel aims to ethnically cleanse Israel/Palestine of its Arab inhabitants in a systematic manner. The rate at which this policy is carried out is astonishing. In 2012 alone a total of 600 Palestinian structures were demolished by the Israeli authorities, including at least 189 homes displacing 880 Palestinians, 468 of whom were children. Thousands more are displaced due to the demolitions of animal shelters, water cisterns, and other structures related to their livelihood or because of the destruction of infrastructure, including roads. These demolitions are illegal under international law, breaching article 53 of the 4th Geneva Convention.
Accusations leveled against SJP claimed that the action targeted Jewish students; this is erroneous and no objective evidence has been cited to support these allegations. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. At its very core, SJP is a group opposed to ethnic discrimination and institutionalized racism. Racism is not limited to the practices of the Israeli government, and opposing policies and racist rhetoric, including anti-Semitism, is vital. The students in SJP and the participants in this action come from diverse, including Jewish, backgrounds. This action addresses only one of the many horrific aspects of the occupation that Palestinians face daily. NYU SJP will continue working towards ending these injustices.
