A flag featuring the New York University logo, the Star of David and two swastikas temporarily flew above a campus building on Wednesday, prompting shock and condemnation from New York leaders.
“I am outraged that a swastika flag was raised overlooking Washington Square Park,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X on Thursday. “This hateful antisemitic act was meant to spread fear among and intimidate Jewish New Yorkers. It has no place in our city.”
“We are in close contact with NYU and have offered assistance to [the NYPD] as they investigate this disgusting act,” Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote in a social media post. “Antisemitism has no place in our state, on our campuses, or in our communities.”
Campus officers and New York City police were called to NYU on Wednesday evening after a campus administrator noticed the display, which appeared to modify an existing NYU flag so it would resemble the blue-and-white striped flag of Israel.
“Symbols tied to the genocide of millions of Jews carry profound pain and trauma, and their use has no place in a campus community that values dignity, safety, and respectful dialogue,” NYU Hillel president Adina Fridman wrote in a statement to Washington Square News, the campus paper, which first reported on the flag. “I appreciate the swift response of the university in removing the display shortly after it was reported and for taking the incident seriously.”
“There are no arrests at this time, and the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating this incident,” the NYPD told The Independent.
The flag briefly flew above the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, near the popular Washington Square Park, during the university’s annual outdoor Grad Alley graduation week party.
The Steinhardt School is named for Michael and Judy Steinhardt, prominent philanthropists who are Jewish. Michael Steinhardt, a billionaire former Wall Street investor, is one of the founders of Birthright Israel, which sends Jewish young people on free trips to Israel.
“We are shocked and deeply troubled that this hateful symbol expressing antisemitism was raised on a flagpole overlooking Washington Square Park,” an NYU spokesperson told the paper. “Campus safety responded immediately to remove it, and we are working closely with the N.Y.P.D. to identify whoever is responsible.”
The Independent has contacted the Steinhardts’ foundation for comment on the flag.
NYU, like its fellow Manhattan-based university Columbia, was home to prominent pro-Palestine protests in recent years during the Israel-Hamas war.
Jewish students at both campuses faced antisemitic harassment and vandalism.
Critics and international observers have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza during the war, which it denies.
