NYU denies diploma to student who criticized Israel in commencement speech

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ NEW YORK AP New York University reported it would deny a diploma to a candidate who used a graduation speech to condemn Israel s attacks on Palestinians and what he described as U S complicity in this genocide Related Articles Trump s stance against South Africa is not just about white farmers It s also about Hamas and Iran Firing hiring and a mystery The -year-old Library of Congress has never had a moment like this FACT FOCUS Trump states the US is the only country with birthright citizenship It s not Senate rejects Democratic measure to force more transparency on deportations to El Salvador Homeland Precaution looks to buy a new M jet for secretary and Coast Guard representatives Logan Rozos s speech Wednesday for graduating students of NYU s Gallatin School sparked waves of condemnation from pro-Israel groups who demanded the university take aggressive disciplinary action against him In a announcement NYU spokesperson John Beckman apologized for the speech and accused the pupil of misusing his platform to express his personal and one-sided political views He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules Beckman added The University is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions Universities across the country have faced tremendous pressure to crack down on pro-Palestinian speech or vulnerability funding cuts from President Donald Trump s administration which has equated criticism of Israel with antisemitism But NYU which is attended by Trump s son Barron has largely avoided the president s ire so far Rozos an actor and member of the Gallatin Theater Troupe was selected by fellow students to give the liberal art project s address He disclosed he felt a moral and political obligation to speak to the audience about what he called the atrocities in Palestine The genocide right now occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States is paid for by our tax dollars and has been livestreamed to our phones for the past months he revealed The speech drew loud cheers from the crowd along with a standing ovation from certain graduating students But as video of the speech spread online it was roundly denounced by pro-Israel groups who accused NYU of creating an unsafe milieu for Jewish students No learner especially Jewish students should have to sit through politicized rhetoric that promotes harmful lies about Israel during such a personal milestone the Anti-Defamation League declared in a announcement The group EndJewHatred suggested the speech which did not mention Jewish people would meet the university s newly-expanded definition of antisemitism which includes certain criticism of Israel An emailed inquiry to Rozos was not returned As pro-Palestinian rallies roiled campuses across the country last spring the commencement season was was marked by tensions and cancellations and strict limits on what students could say With billions of dollars of funding at liability from the Trump administration the stakes for universities are even higher this year particular faculty reported They are bending over backward to crack down on speech that runs counter to what the current administration in Washington espouses stated Andrew Ross a professor of social and cultural analysis at NYU Myself and several of my colleagues are frankly appalled at the decision that s being made to deny a apprentice speaker his diploma Ross added This is a very good example of an administration falling down on the job