NYU urges dismissal of antisemitism lawsuit, says it acted 'decisively'

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York University said it has moved "decisively" to root out antisemitism on its campus, and that a lawsuit by Jewish students claiming they have been mistreated should be dismissed.

In a Monday night filing in Manhattan federal court, NYU said reports of antisemitism have declined significantly, sometimes to near zero, following a surge immediately after of the Oct. 7, 2023 outbreak of war in Gaza.

The university also said student victims of antisemitism lack legal standing to demand sweeping changes.

It said it has taken "far more" steps than the law requires to address their concerns, including the adoption of a "10 Point Plan" that boosts on-campus security and disciplines on people who violate its anti-discrimination policies.

"NYU recognizes that the past few months have been profoundly challenging for many members of its community, including its Jewish and Israeli students, but plaintiffs allegations do not state a claim," it said. "There is no need for this court's intervention now, and likely never will be."

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment.

The lawsuit filed on Nov. 14 was among the earliest of the now many lawsuits accusing major universities including Carnegie-Mellon, Columbia, Harvard, MIT, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania of failing to stop and even encouraging antisemitism.

Columbia was sued separately last week over its decision to suspend two pro-Palestinian student groups that opposed Israel's conduct in its war against Hamas.

The NYU plaintiffs 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.

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

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)