JAWS statement on NYU’s updated Non-discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy

Jews Against White Supremacy (JAWS) is deeply disappointed by New York University (NYU)’s updated Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment (NDAH) policy. This policy, which defines “Zionist” as a protected class, the same as “Jew” or “Israeli,” serves only to stifle anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian speech and criticism of Zionism as an ideology and political project. By defining Zionism as a core part of Jewish identity, this policy not only minimizes and erases anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, but also reinforces a long-standing antisemitic conflation with Zionism and Jewishness.

Such a policy makes NYU’s Campus less safe for Jews and Palestinians alike, and effectively requires tacit support for a fascist apartheid state while silencing any criticism of its genocidal settler-colonial project that furthers Western imperialist interests in Southwest Asia and North Afrika. JAWS calls upon NYU to reverse its changes to its NDAH policy as well as divest from Israel.