NYU’s Center for Neural Science relocated an event co-hosted by an Israeli scientific institute last week to keep it “secured from disruptive protest,” the director of the center told event registrants in an email obtained by WSN. The move from the Silver Center for Arts & Science to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine came after pro-Palestinian groups on campus publicized plans to protest the meeting.
At the annual event, “Progress in Neuroscience: The Forseen and the Unforseen,” neuroscience researchers from NYU and the Weizmann Institute of Science — a research school with ties to the Israeli military and weapon manufacturers amid its ongoing siege in Gaza — were set to host discussions about the latest developments in research on March 24 and 25. CNS director André Fenton told prospective student attendees about the relocation in a March 26 email, after previously informing them that the event would take place virtually and a recording would be distributed to “minimize the possibility of disruption and harm.”
“At the request of university leadership, we decided to move the meeting both to minimize the harm to individual members of our community and to protect our core academic mission,” Fenton wrote in the email. “We deeply regret that our trainees could not participate, but this was a condition of using the new location.”
A CNS alum, who requested to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, confirmed that students were unable to attend the relocated event.
In the email, Fenton noted that enabling on-campus protests, and subsequent violations of student conduct policy, could result in disciplinary action and suspensions. He cited that “these facts” contributed to the decision to relocate, and said he would consult with a diversity, equity and inclusion committee to address the “complexities of this time” and “challenges to academic freedom and independence it has brought.”
Last year, dozens of faculty, students, alumni and neuroscientists from other universities signed an open letter to Fenton and CNS professor Wei Ji Ma, demanding the center halt its over 20-year collaboration with the Weizmann Institute and bolster efforts to combat antisemitic and anti-Palestinian rhetoric. Last year’s conference was “postponed indefinitely,” according to NYU’s chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. A spokesperson for Science for the People NYC told WSN that community members circulated the same petition this year, which has garnered 75 signatures.
The CNS alum also told WSN that alumni led protests against the department because students are concerned about potential repercussions in the wake of the Trump administration’s campaign to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters across college campuses. Over the past few weeks, the U.S. Department of State revoked more than 300 student visas and detained several international students involved in on-campus demonstrations.
“We’re dealing with a rising fascist government that is willing to detain students who express certain pro-Palestine views,” the alum said. “We’re calling on NYU to do the right thing, which is to support students’ right to protest what is effectively an ongoing genocide that has been devastating for a lot of members of the community.”
An NYU spokesperson previously told WSN that the university “will comply with the law” amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on student visas, and that Campus Safety officers will only allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel on campus if they have a valid search warrant or subpoena.
The Weizmann Institute of Science was founded in 1934 in what is now known as Rehovot, Israel and offers postgraduate degrees to those studying natural and exact sciences. The institute has created a program preparing Israeli high school graduates for military duty, has been heavily involved in developing Israel’s nuclear weaponry and has spearheaded research on chemical and biological warfare.
“I have very little hope that NYU will do the right thing,” the alum said. “By canceling all further instances of this event in coming years, they could be showing their students that they care about their safety.”
A university spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
Contact Amanda Chen at [email protected].
