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Backlash is mounting against New York University after its law school decided to block an on-campus event with conservative Jewish legal analyst Ilya Shapiro, which was scheduled for the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
The university’s Federal Society chapter had planned to host Shapiro for a midday discussion, but the event was canceled after NYU administrators stepped in.
The group was asked to host Shapiro on a different date due to “security reasons” and because the university said it was anticipating “an increased likelihood of demonstrations and protests connected to the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 incidents in Gaza,” according to emails shared with Fox News Digital. The request was later turned into a refusal to permit the event during the week of the Oct. 7 anniversary.
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“This is not a decision based on the proposed program or speaker but rather based on an obligation to provide enhanced security generally on campus during that week as well as resource commitments we have already made,” stated a Sept. 17 email from Megan McDermott, NYU’s associate dean for academic and faculty affairs. “For the sake of clarity and for future planning purposes, I do not know that anyone has any information suggesting that your proposed event would be subject to disruption or protest specifically related to the anniversary of the October 7th hostage taking.”
Shapiro had planned to discuss his upcoming book at the NYU event, in which he posits that the nation’s top law schools have been captured by an illiberal and ideological regime that fosters radicalism and supports ideological conformity over open debate and inquiry. This shift, Shapiro argues, weakens cultural and institutional guardrails protecting free speech on campuses.
Ilya Shapiro seen speaking during a lecture series in 2016. Shapiro was formerly a Vice…
