Iran’s Attack on Israel
6 min read
Adela Cojab sued New York University and is encouraging Jewish students to take action.
Adela Cojab had been a proud Jew and Zionist her entire life. In 2019, when she was a student at New York University, and back home from a recent Birthright Israel trip, she decided to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day in Washington Square Park with her Jewish friends and fellow Jewish students.
In the past, anti-Jewish protestors had tried to shut down the celebration, so Adela, who was the president of the student group Realize Israel, met with the NYU administration to express her concerns. They told her she was overreacting.
She wasn’t.
As soon as the event started, an anti-Zionist student rushed to the front of the protest line, held up the Israeli flag, lit it on fire, and threw it to the ground where it continued to burn. Adela told her friends to ignore him, sing “Hatikvah” and move on.
Suddenly, a student protestor grabbed a microphone from a Jewish student, yelled “Free Palestine!” and waved his hands in the air. More protestors took the 10-foot Israeli flag, shredded it, and hung it from lamp posts and trees. Two protestors were arrested by NYPD and charged with assault, reckless endangerment, and property theft and damage.
Soon after, Adela, who was also a senator for the NYU student government, met with the administration to tell them that a line had been crossed and it was time to act.
What did NYU instead? They gave the anti-Israel hate group the President’s Service Award – the highest honor a student group can receive.
“There was so much frustration and sadness,” Adela told Aish. “The school wouldn’t even make a statement about the burning of the Israeli flag. They weren’t even willing to deal with it as a conduct issue.”
Adela kept trying to meet with the school to get them to do something, but they ignored her. So, she sued NYU under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that, “no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
My lawsuit was about equal protection under the law. The school cannot decide which minorities do and do not deserve protection.
“My lawsuit against NYU wasn’t about antisemitism or additional protection for the Jewish community,” Adela said. “It was about equal protection under the law. The school and the government have laws to protect religious groups on campus. Jewish students were left out. The school cannot decide which minorities do and do not deserve protection.”
Adela was familiar with anti-Jewish hate, having grown up in a Syrian-Lebanese-Jewish home. Her mother’s side left Lebanon in the 1970’s when the war broke out, and her father’s side left Syria in the 1920’s. As Jews, they were second-class citizens in these countries.
“Jews were not able to get passports,” Adela said. “They were not included. They didn’t feel safe, so they left.”
Adela was born in Mexico, and she went to NYU to major in Near and Middle Eastern studies. She became vice president of her sorority, AEPHi, and served as the official representative of Jewish Students at the United Nations.
Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activists in New York City, on May 15, 2021. (Luke Tress)
The event in Washington Square Park wasn’t the only antisemitic event that occurred on campus during her time at NYU. The Governance Counsel for Marginalized and Minority Students (GCOMMS) put out a statement that compared Zionism to racism and Nazism, and just two weeks after this, a resolution was presented to NYU Student Government to boycott the NYU campus in Tel Aviv. And then, 53 student clubs signed a pledge to boycott Israel and Realize Israel, which Adela was involved in at the time. NYU has a large student population in the second-most-Jewish part of the world.
Every liberal institution tells people they shouldn’t check their identity at the door. Jews shouldn’t have to, either.
“Every liberal institution tells people they shouldn’t check their identity at the door,” she said. “Jews shouldn’t have to, either.”
After filing her lawsuit against NYU, Adela made headlines, and then-President Trump invited her to Miami to speak about it. Just three days later, he signed an executive order that expanded the definition of Judaism to be considered an ethno-religion, and it would fall under Title VI. This change in the law meant that NYU would likely lose in court.
So NYU drafted a settlement agreement. Adela did not request damages. She simply wanted NYU to act when there was discrimination against Jewish students.
“Lawsuits take a long time to affect anything,” Adela said. “It doesn’t become instantly better. They start making changes, no matter how small. It’s unfortunate, but at the end of the day, schools do respond to legal action.”
Following the settlement, there wasn’t much happening on campus since it was COVID. But since the October 7 attack, antisemitism at Adela’s alma mater has spiraled out of control.
“There has been an explosion of antisemitism at NYU,” she said. “It’s a shame. If NYU had dealt with it head on and instilled proactive programming to combat antisemitism, or they had actually dealt with the real issue, it wouldn’t be happening. I sent them a letter calling for suppression of SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) as a student organization.”
She continued, “They can’t just sit there and say, ‘We don’t know what to do’ or “This is a complicated situation.’ If you would have done your job four years ago, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Now, three NYU students are following in Adela’s footsteps and suing the school. Other students across the United States who are facing antisemitism on campus are wondering if they should do the same.
“You don’t have to run off and sue your school,” said Adela, who is now a JD Candidate at Cardozo School of Law. “That should be a last resort. But every student should be making a record of antisemitic incidents so that the school is aware.”
Adela doesn’t believe the schools are inherently antisemitic – they just don’t know how to deal with antisemitism. Plus, schools including NYU are receiving funding from anti-Israel Arab countries, and NYU has “a good chunk of faculty that are against condemning antisemitism,” Adela said.
However, even in the face of rising antisemitism on campuses around the U.S., she urges students not to leave their schools or be afraid. Instead, they must be proud and fight back.
“These students should be more open about their Judaism and make it clear they belong in that school like everyone else,” she said. “Jewish students should know: they are not alone.”
I’m not of the Jewish faith, I’m a gentile. However, I support people of faith to worship Almighty God to do so in peace & without interference from anyone else. The Jews of Israel are not invaders; they have lived in the Holy Land for thousands of years. Here in Australia we have seen people marching in the streets chanting vicious slogans such as “Gas the Jews” / F::: the Jews” & “Free Palestine”. Do these people not understand that Israel departed Gaza in 2007: some 16 years ago? Hamas is a terrorist organisation, which perpetrated the attacks of 7 October where they murdered anyone they could. They raped any female they could and murdered babies and small children. Our Foreign Minister Penny Wong, called on Israel “To show restraint”.
I read that the big universities get big donations from Muslim countries. We have nothing against Muslim countries - as long as they don't say the things the head of Iran is saying. (Although even in Iran, there have been heavy protests against him, in recent years.) The donations are apparently to have influence, and the university heads know they'll likely stop, if they do anything about the issues.
For the Jewish students, a respectful suggestion: Go to yeshiva and Jewish schools. There are many religious Jews earning a respectable salary, and they have never gone to university. They take courses and learn on the job, and God helps them out.
Please See: School Of The Blues How The “Year In Israel” Can Prepare Students For Lifeby Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen
I wish you a great deal of success in the pursuance of your lawsuit. I never experienced any level of any antisemitism while attending the Jesuit College I eventually graduated from. The Jesuits all knew I was Jewish too as I wore a baseball hat in class.
I think the president of NYU should resign. Antisemitism should not exist in any college.
I am Jewish, my family came to South America from Ukraine at th beginning of 1900. Our community is small, and usually all “happenings “ were talked inside our circle. After 7Oct, we finally let our voice be heard, and we now our voice is heard in the streets as well. We don’t have to hide or be mute anymore, and the world will have to accept that the State of Israel exists for good, it is a Jewish state and us Jews in the Diaspora are also part of it and will stand up to protect its existence and that of all Jews. Am Israel Chaim
What a brave woman!
May she be blessed!
I'll add, what a beautiful girl! a Queen Esther type.
The Jewish students of NYU and all other universities and colleges where pro Hamas antisemites, well organized and financed, took over the campuses. In many cases, having as accomplices' Jewish students.
The Jewish students shouldn't be afraid of those antisemite thugs. They should challenge them to open debates, in open halls, organized by college societies. The antisemites then should be exposed in front of the student bodies. A well-prepared pro-Israel, Zionist student can face any pro-Palestinian antisemite.
They should especially try to engage in dialogue those apostates, those self hating Jews who support the enemies who want to exterminate them.
Jewish students, stand up to terror. Reclaim your universities' campuses. Expose and silence those antisemites in organized debates
Hypothetical question to "Bob Applebaum":
If a terrorist group launched an attack against the US by flying airplanes into a skyscraper, would the US engage in a war to dismantle the terrorist group? What if the terrorists dropped bombs on a US Navy base in Hawaii? Would that trigger a war? What would you, Bob Applebaum, consider a "just war?"
Poor analogies. The U.S. did not displace al-Qaeda or the Japanese from their lands.
A better analogy would be the Maccabees who wanted to reclaim Judea from the Seleucid Empire. The Palestinians want to reclaim their land from Israel.
Gaza didnt shrink. It gained more land by all jews being removed Palestinians gained their land. But what did they do with it? Destroyed the farms. If you want more land to destroy, Then they better head over to the Arab states that their ancestry actually hails from and take back their lands from the Royals who kicked them out on several occasions and wouldnt even take them in as refugees during the Nakba. If we were like you, there would be no West Bank, Gaza, etc. Dumb dumb. Luckily we are not scum.
Technically advanced underground command centers and rockets with smart warheads don’t count, of course. They just magically appeared to the Gazans, perhaps?
They belong to Hamas, not civilians. Do you know the difference?
That is precisely why civilians are told to move away from the battlegrounds. Do you deny the leaflets?
Oh, how kind. Seal the borders, drop leaflets, and bomb away. Hospitals mazel tov!
It is Egypt that seals the Rafah crossing. Oddly, Egypt did not seal the Rafah tunnels for the past 14 years.
Every country would be concerned about an influx of a million refugees. Rafah is only one point of egress, the rest blockaded by Israel.
Too many people confuse Soviet propaganda and liberalism.
By the same token, what caused/es all our problems is when we mix with none Jews. Gentiles will always hate us, that’s their very nature, they will tolerate us under normal situations , but given half the chance- as we are seeing now, their true colors Come out
Stereotyping. The same that some non-Jews do of Jews.
The same way you stereotype about Palestinians?
Nope.
Ah... Brevity is the soul of wit!
The premise is that you speak on behalf of Palestinians with whom you have never spoken.
I never wrote that I speak on behalf of anyone. You just made that up.
"Most Palestinians don't want war, nor do most Jews."
- Bob Applebaum, 12/10/2023
So was I speaking on behalf of Jews, the Palestinians or myself?
Clearly you were speaking on behalf of "Most Palestinians..." and "most Jews."
I didn't write that I was speaking on behalf of anyone. You made that up. I was speaking on behalf of myself.
I will let the record speak for itself.
Great!
Such as touro
Israel is removing a snake that has entered the house. You don't discuss with anyone (friend, neighbour) what should be done in such a situation! And when you are at it, any weapon can be used. A person like Bro. Applebaum has never had to deal with a snake invasion. Let us forgive him, and hope he never has to deal with such a situation!
That's ironic, Palestinians say the same of Israel. Until these viewpoints change, the battles will continue.
Palestinians don’t say anything, they use these things as excuses for murder. That is how they are raised from conception. Seal to a so called Palestinian regnant woman and she will tell you her greatest wish is for her unborn child to grow up to be a martyr for the cause.
The cause being being to die for the sake of their chieftains financial royal benefits.
Most Palestinians don't want war, nor do most Jews. Yet the few who do, have succeeded.
You seem to know more about Gazans than the rest of us. What are your sources?
Many sources, individuals interviewed in media, the U.N., the Center for Peace Communications, Voices for Justice in Palestine, Youtube channels, many more.
I would like to examine some of your sources. Will you help direct me?
Use your internet browser and do a search.
Why do you avoid scrutiny? Are you embarrassed about your sources?
Lookup "The Center for Peace Communications", lookup, "Voices for Justice in Palestine", lookup "CNN" or"Yahoo News". If you can't do so, seek an adult for assistance.
I am very familiar with the series "Whispered in Gaza," created by "The Center for Peace Communications." The take-away is that some Gazans are scared for their lives from their own Hamas leadership. Isn't that also an argument for removing Hamas from power?
Hamas should be removed from power as should any government that does not allow vocal dissent.
So how do you propose that they be removed, with a polite invitation?
Do we bomb other countries with authoritarian governments, like Russia and China? No, because they have the might to fight back. Hamas doesn't. That still doesn't make it right to bomb civilians.
You ask: "Do we bomb other countries with authoritarian governments, like Russia and China?..."
I answer: We do if they invade our territory and inflict a pogrom.
That's exactly what the Palestinians are thinking about Israel.
Have you spoken with these Palestinians?
"Voices for Justice in Palestine" does not address anti-Zionism.
I never wrote that it did.
You seem to contradict yourself often, as do most Marxist propagandists.
I haven't and I'm not Marxist. So much for the 10 Commandments! Hotzaat shem ra
Why do you write about what Palestinians think, and then claim that you never said that? You undercut your own integrity.
I never wrote that I never said anything about what I wrote concerning the Palestinians. You should review the comments.
Are you feeling safe? Do you feel like you might hurt yourself or others? You do realize if we were half as bad as you are trying to paint us with all your mental gymnastics then you wouldnt dare feel safe posting on here. Yet here you are. Its not that you are brave, its that you were born a coward and as a coward you know we arent hostile hence why you feel safe harassing nice people.
It IS a shame. It's a shame that the only justice available is a lawsuit.
Too many universities are buckling under whatever pressure they are feeling.
My personal opinion is, although it is ALSO said to say, the only justice available appears to be at the end of a Wallet. Recently, after an abysmal showing be the President of the University of Pennsylvania, where she refused to say that "...calling for the genocide of Jews was bullying and harassment." After this happened, several donors removed their financial support, including one who was going to donate $100 million.
Antisemitism is rampant in the world right now.
Fighting it with lawsuits and convincing donors to rescind their funding may be the only "tools" available in this fight but,
Fight we must. and
Fight we Will.
I’m sorry, but to have settled with NYU was the wrong tact. They have proven that by their inaction following October 7.
I understand your frustration. However, I it seemed that settling was the best course of action at the time. AS the cliche goes, money talks. Maybe NYU and the other schools will take appropriate action when they go into the red. Btw--I loved this essay!