A pro-Palestinian NYU group targeted Jewish classmates with threatening “eviction” notices that were slid under dorm-room doors in the dead of night, students said Thursday.
“If you do not vacate the premise by midnight on 25 April, 2014 we reserve the right to destroy all remaining belongings. We cannot be held responsible for property or persons remaining inside the premises,” read the notices, which were delivered by members of the Students for Justice in Palestine.
NYU sophomore Hunter Goet, whose room got one of the threatening notices overnight Wednesday, said, “A lot of people felt transgressed upon because they felt threatened by it.”
“They felt like their housing was being threatened. It was a massive source of panic.”
The activist student group targeted Palladium Hall on East 14th Street because it is widely believed to house the most Jewish residents — and even has a special elevator that works without pressing buttons on the Sabbath, reported the Times of Israel.
The warnings conclude, “THIS IS NOT A REAL EVICTION NOTICE” — and the group said they were replicas of notices routinely left at the homes of Palestinians by the Israeli government.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said that while the school encourages open discussion, the prank crossed the line.
“It is disappointingly inconsistent with standards we expect to prevail in a scholarly community,” Beckman said. “Our Residence Life and Housing Office will be communicating with the students in the dorm, looking into the matter, and following up appropriately.”
NYU officials didn’t understand why Palladium was targeted.
“However, were it to be the case that the fliering was done there because it was perceived to be a dorm with a higher proportion of Jewish students, that would be troubling, dismaying and a matter of deep concern for our community,” Beckman said.
Similar hate pranks have been pulled at other universities in recent months, including Rutgers, Michigan and Northeastern.
Students at the NYU dorm were shaken by the incident.
“We thought we were getting evicted. We were panicking a little bit,” said sophomore Gabrielle Doria, 20.
Another sophomore, 20-year-old Lexi Clarke, also believed she was being thrown out.
“We were all just kind of freaking out,” she said. “I was so confused about what was happening.”
No one with the group could be reached for comment.
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