New York University settles lawsuit over antisemitism for undisclosed amount

By CNN Newsource

Published July 10, 2024 9:29 AM

By Jordan Valinsky and Celina Tebor, CNN

New York (CNN) — New York University has settled a federal lawsuit with students over antisemitism on campus for a confidential amount, the university said in a statement Tuesday.

The settlement brings to an end a lawsuit filed in November 2023 from three Jewish students over NYU’s alleged failure to enforce its anti-discrimination policies, claiming their civil rights were violated over the university’s handling of discrimination and harassment against Jewish students.

“We are committed to continuing our vigorous efforts to confront discrimination, including antisemitism, and the settlement in this litigation is yet another step in this direction,” NYU President Linda Mills said in a joint statement with the plaintiffs.

The university said it “takes seriously all allegations of discrimination, confirms that NYU treats all allegations of discrimination against Jews and Israelis in the same manner that it treats conduct prohibited under Title VI and other civil rights statutes when directed at other protected groups.”

In the lawsuit, Bella Ingber, Sabrina Maslavi and Saul Tawil, each a junior attending NYU, alleged that NYU created a hostile educational environment that subjected them and other Jewish students to “pervasive acts of hatred, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The settlement also creates a new “Title VI Coordinator” position that ensures the university “responds adequately and consistently to allegations of discrimination and harassment based on all protected traits.” They will also be tasked in creating an annual report about disciplinary data and another report that examines NYU’s disciplinary responses to “allegations of discrimination or harassment” since 2018.

The suit claimed there had been a “steadily increasing incidence of antisemitic attacks at NYU” over the past 10 years and said the university has failed to enforce its own policies to protect Jewish students. The campus was a flashpoint in protests following the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel and Israel’s response in Gaza.

“NYU, by entering into this historic settlement, is to be commended for taking a leading position among American universities in combating antisemitism on campus. Other universities should promptly follow their lead,” said Marc Kasowitz, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in the joint statement.