A gathering of Pro-Palestinian students from The New School took over the entrance of one of the prominent buildings in the Big Apple college on Monday. They were expressing their opposition to the school’s interim president, accusing her of “condoning genocide.”
Approximately 40 students obstructed the entrance to The New School University Center, which houses classrooms, a library, dining hall, and studios. They held their ground for two hours on Monday afternoon, brandishing Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh scarves.
The demonstrators, aligned with New School Students for Justice in Palestine, staged this action as part of a week-long initiative, almost two months into the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Other students attempting to enter the building through the turnstile were forced to find alternative routes. Inside the building, chants of “Donna, Donna, you can’t hide, you’re condoning genocide” echoed, directly addressing New School Interim President Donna Shalala, a former congressperson for one term. The protesters also aimed their criticism at their fellow students, proclaiming, “New School students, don’t you hide, you cannot ignore genocide.”
For more updates on the Israel-Hamas war and the global increase in antisemitism, subscribe to The Post’s Israel War Update, delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. One student shared her experience with The Post, recounting how she was surrounded and verbally confronted by protesters when she was attempting to access the library.
“I didn’t know this was going on. I went in there to study in the library. It’s finals week, and I have finals due tonight and tomorrow,” said Layla Lari, a strategic design and management student. “I went in there and I tried to use my voice, and I had them all gather in a circle and scream at me,” Lari added. “They were saying I’m a colonizer.”
She believes that the protesters are disseminating “antisemitic propaganda” that traces back to the Holocaust and predates the establishment of Israel.
