NYU settles antisemitism lawsuit brought by Jewish students

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York University has settled a lawsuit by Jewish students who accused the school of failing to stop antisemitism on campus, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan federal court said on Monday.

The settlement came as both sides canceled a scheduled Tuesday hearing on NYU’s motion to dismiss the case.

Terms of the settlement were not immediately available. NYU, its lawyers, and lawyers for the students did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The settlement was announced the same day Brown University agreed to bolster nondiscrimination training for employees and students, to resolve a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education over its handling of discrimination and harassment claims, including those related to antisemitism.

NYU was sued last November, in one of the earliest of the now many lawsuits accusing major universities of allowing and even encouraging antisemitism following the Oct. 7, 2023 outbreak of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Students accused the school of violating federal civil rights law by enforcing its anti-discrimination policies unevenly, including by allowing chants such as “gas the Jews” and “Hitler was right” while ignoring other bigotry.

In seeking a dismissal, NYU argued that reports of antisemitism had declined significantly following an initial surge immediately after the war began.

It also said it had taken far more steps than the law required to address student concerns, including by adopting a “10 Point Plan” to boost on-campus security and disciplining people who violate its anti-discrimination policies.

Other schools that have faced similar lawsuits include Carnegie-Mellon, Columbia, Harvard, MIT, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania.

The case is Ingber et al v New York University, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-10023.