Pro-Israeli activist Ilya Shapiro does not think NYU Law administrators were intentionally antisemitic or discriminatory when they postponed his book discussion due to “security concerns,” he said at the recently reinstated event Tuesday afternoon. 

Last month, administrators advised NYU’s chapter of the Federalist Society to move its discussion about Shapiro’s book, which criticizes “institutional weakness” in university responses to pro-Palestinian encampments, either to another date or off campus. After the event’s cancellation was reported by several publications and faced criticism from two free speech watchdog organizations, the NYU School of Law reinstated it — this time as a panel featuring Appellate Judge Lisa Branch, District Judge Roy Altman and FIRE senior fellow Nadine Strossen. 

“There are ideological blind spots baked into these structures and systems,” Shapiro said while discussing the event cancellation at the panel. “All of these misunderstandings, miscommunications and errors, even if acknowledged and rectified, all seem to go in the same direction from university administrations.”

Altman and Branch, who were moderating the panel, said that they both felt compelled to attend in an effort to uphold their values of “diversity of viewpoint.” Branch added that she felt the need to support her Jewish friends in any capacity on the anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023. The event marks two years since Hamas’ attacks on Israel and the start of an escalated war in Gaza, which prompted mass protests and encampments across universities nationwide, including NYU. 

In an email sent to students registered for the event, NYU Law administrators warned that “disruptions to the event will not be tolerated,” and those who violate policy will be removed from the space and “might face other consequences.” Around five campus safety officers and two New York City Police Department officers stood at the building entrance to check attendees’ identity and RSVP status. Those who did not register could watch the panel through a YouTube live-stream. 

In a Monday podcast with Republican blogger Meghan McCain, Shapiro said that after hearing of the event’s postponement, President Linda Mills was “mortified” and “told her folks to get this fixed.” Student organizations, including NYU’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for a Democratic Society, issued a joint Instagram post Tuesday morning that criticized Mills’ decision and referenced X posts where Shapiro called Palestinians “subhumans” and said they should be “eradicated as a culture.”

“As the law school previously noted in their public statements, they asked the university if it could accommodate the event on the originally requested date, and the university was able to do so,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman wrote in a statement to WSN. “There’s no more to it than that.”

Altman said that while rhetoric used by student protestors is not itself “actual violence,” issues arise when physical violence and unprotected speech amplifies antisemitism. Panelists also criticized the decay of open debates in elite universities and law schools such as Harvard University, Yale University and Columbia University.

“We don’t censor one side just because it’s got the facts or the law right,” Altman said. “We seem to have forgotten that in the place where it matters the most — in law schools and college campuses — where free speech and open discourse should be the most vibrant.”

Strossen listed “topics that are difficult to discuss” according to last month’s FIRE college free speech ranking, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, abortion and transgender rights, and strongly advised against “left-wing cancel culture” that silences opposing ideologies. In the report, NYU received an “F” grade, ranking No. 250 out of 257 schools.

“Let’s keep our eyes on the whole spectrum of problems, regardless of what our political views are,” Strossen said.

Contact Eva Mundo at [email protected].