(JTA) — Pro-Palestinian students from New York University distributed fake eviction notices at a dormitory to protest Israel’s house demolition practices.
The pro-Palestinian students slipped phony “eviction notices” under the doors of up to 2,000 undergraduates on Thursday, alarming some of the Jewish students who live there, the New York Daily News reported the same day.
The NYU protest came a week after a Northeastern University group suspended for a similar activity was provisionally reinstated at the Boston school.
At NYU, the bogus notices were distributed in the Palladium and Lafayette dorms.
“We regret to inform you that your suite is scheduled for demolition in three days,” the notices read. “If you do not vacate the premise by midnight on 25 April, 2014, we reserve the right to destroy all remaining belongings. Charges for demolition will be applied to your student accounts.”
The flyers from NYU Students for Justice in Palestine referenced Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes but were marked at the bottom, “This is not a real eviction notice.”
Many Jewish students live in the two dorms, but the notices did not go to them exclusively, according to the Daily News.
Some Jewish students said they felt attacked by the stunt, the daily reported. Laura Adkins, 19, a pro-Israel activist, said it was “specifically targeting Jewish students, which makes them feel not so safe.”
Adkins said she was flooded with text messages from friends appalled by the fliers.
NYU Students for Justice in Palestine said the campaign was directed at all students.
“Accusations leveled against SJP claimed that the action targeted Jewish students; this is erroneous and no objective evidence has been cited to support these allegations,” it said in a statement. “In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.”
NYU spokesman John Beckman said the school is investigating.
“A flier titled ‘eviction notice’ anonymously slipped under doors at night is not an invitation to thoughtful, open discussion,” he told the New York Post. “It is disappointingly inconsistent with standards we expect to prevail in a scholarly community. Our Residence Life and Housing Office will be communicating with the students in the dorm, looking into the matter, and following up appropriately.”
The Anti-Defamation League condemned the campaign.
“The anti-Israel activists who passed out these notices are creating tension, intimidating students and fostering a hostile atmosphere on campus,” the ADL said in a statement.
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