The announcements comes days after three Jewish students sued NYU.
New York University announced last week that a recent seven-figure donation would be used to found an interdisciplinary center on the study of antisemitism, which is expected to open in the fall of 2024.
The announcement comes days after three Jewish students sued NYU for allegedly committing “egregious civil rights violations” and creating a “hostile educational environment” in which Jewish students were subject to “pervasive acts of hatred, discrimination, harassment, and intimidation.”
The forthcoming NYU center will draw from a range of academic disciplines to study “contemporary and historical manifestations of one of the world’s most enduring forms of hate” and how it can be best combatted.
“The Center will research both classical forms of antisemitism as well as the ‘new antisemitism’ and its links to anti-Zionism. It will examine the ways in which antisemitism and other forms of hate, discrimination and extremism fuel one another,” reads the announcement, which was released on November 15. “In addition to serving as a hub for the scholarly study of antisemitism, the new Center is expected to undertake wide-ranging programs and trainings at NYU and elsewhere to educate against antisemitism and other forms of prejudice.”
The center intends to provide funding for research projects, host events with speakers, and organize colloquia that culminate in published papers.
The center will also “coordinate activities on NYU’s campuses designed to create an academic atmosphere free of anti-Jewish prejudices” and “develop a clinic for organizations, companies, or communities aiming to develop meaningful paradigms for change when it comes to antisemitism.”
“Since October 7, the increase has been truly terrifying in both the American and global contexts. I have listened to heartbreaking stories from students, faculty, parents, and alums,” said NYU president Linda G. Mills. “NYU unequivocally condemns antisemitism and other forms of hate, and we are committed to maintaining a campus environment where all can study and learn in an atmosphere of respect and live free from the fear of bigotry.”
NYU released a statement on October 8 condemning the Hamas attack and assuring that its affiliates at NYU Tel Aviv were unharmed.
“No doubt you have heard the news of the multi-pronged and deadly terrorist attack on Israel. The fighting is uncommonly intense, with widespread violence, injuries, and loss of life, as well as hostage-taking of Israelis by Hamas,” read the statement.
The statement was updated to say, “No doubt you have heard the news of the multi-pronged and deadly terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas. We want to express NYU’s condemnation of the attack — the indiscriminate killing of civilian non-combatants and the taking of hostages, including children and the elderly, is reprehensible”
NYU opened its Tel Aviv, Israel campus in 2009. The campus offers courses in Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies, languages, the sciences, entrepreneurship, Israeli cinema, Queer Theory, journalism, history, and conflict resolution, according to the NYU Tel Aviv director.