Some residents of NYU's Palladium Hall, a dormitory known for its sizable Jewish population, woke up this morning to find "eviction notices" slipped under their doors by members of NYU's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Students, however, were not thrilled by the tactics of the group, and said that they felt as if the flyers were intended to intimidate and scare rather than to inform. Laura Adkins writes for Times of Israel:
One Jewish resident of Palladium and Steinhardt Sophomore, speaking anonymously told me, “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. 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.”
Similar tactics have taken place at Rutgers and Northeastern University. Northeastern's chapter of SJP got suspended as a result of their distribution of "eviction" notices.
Adkins criticized the tactic as cowardice and anti-Semitic in nature as SJP intentionally targeted a dorm with a large Jewish population rather than foster some kind of dialogue on campus.
Academic dialogue and the freedom to share ideas is one thing, but this move by NYU’s SJP shows nothing but cowardice and anti-semitic fearmongering. By choosing to target Jewish students (or at the very least, a dorm brimming with Jewish students) instead of engaging with them, NYU’s SJP has made it clear that they do not seek dialogue or peace with Israel; indeed, an article published by SJP members in NYU Local earlier this year called the peace process a sham, and SJP member Kumars Salehi’s remarks in a discussion between Salehi and myself featured on NYU Local’s Op Ed Live expressed similar sentiments.
Unauthorized canvassing dorms with fliers is a violation of NYU housing policies.