Princeton refuses to punish masked students who hurled slurs at Jews
Princeton University has yet to punish anti-Israel demonstrators for disrupting an April event at the school’s campus that featured a former Israeli politician.
At the April 7 protest, around 250 protesters called former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett a 'war criminal,' referred to Jewish students as 'inbreds,' and demanded they return to Europe.
Princeton University has yet to punish anti-Israel demonstrators for disrupting an April event at the school’s campus that featured a former Israeli politician.
At the April 7 protest, around 250 protesters called former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett a “war criminal,” referred to Jewish students as “inbreds,” and demanded they return to Europe, as reported by Jewish News Syndicate. The protest was organized by Princeton’s chapter of the anti-Israel student group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Protesters also displayed images of triangles, adopting a symbol used by Hamas during the war in Gaza, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Yet, no students have been punished in connection with the protest, partly since they were wearing masks and could not be identified, The Daily Wire reported. The university administration has not implemented a prohibition on face coverings.
According to the nonprofit organization, Princetonians for Free Speech, the university has delayed publishing information about its investigation into the incident.
“We searched carefully and could find no public announcement, no press release, nor anything on the University’s website about the investigation’s results. The only mention of it we can find anywhere is a short story in the Princeton Alumni Weekly on May 21,” the group explained on June 4. “Is Princeton trying to hide this report and, with the end of the school year, duck the entire issue?”
Campus Reform has reported about persistent anti-Israel rhetoric at Princeton University. In December for instance, the school’s SJP group advocated for divestment from Israel, accusing the Jewish state of perpetrating human rights abuses.
In March, the Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest student group also endorsed a divestment proposal, which eventually failed.
Following these reports, the Trump administration froze $210 million in funds that had been earmarked for Princeton. The federal government’s announcement came after Campus Reform Editor-in-Chief Zachary Marschall filed a civil rights complaint against Princeton over anti-Semitism concerns, including students chanting “Brick by brick, wall by wall, apartheid has got to fall.”
In April, however, Princeton’s president announced he would not amend school policy in response to the Trump administration’s funding freeze, citing “academic freedom.”
Campus Reform has contacted Princeton University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
