Spit. Pushed. Getting kicked out of the building for speaking Hebrew. The university of an Israeli-American student stood by and allowed this to happen, according to a new lawsuit.
The Lawfare Project filed a lawsuit against The New School in New York City on Wednesday, accusing the university of failing to protect Sophie Chabert from a series of violent incidents.
During a protest in December 2023, protesters screamed, spat at her and pushed her out of the building, “Fuck you, asshole.”
In March 2024, a group of protesters trapped students, including Shabot, at an event featuring an Israeli speaker and knocked on the door, demanding the students “hand over” the speaker, according to a Lawfare news release. A professor at the school then pushed a Jewish student guarding the door, and the school shut down the event, according to the indictment. For safety reasons, the organizer has secretly relocated.
The lawsuit states that a group of people “surrounded Chabert and her friend after hearing them speaking Hebrew” and “rushed them out of the university center while a security guard looked on silently.” The complaint also alleges that a protester “threw” a bottle at her head, nearly hitting her.
Ziporah Reich, director of litigation at the Lawfare Project, said the school “turned a blind eye” to the shocking verbal and physical assault she suffered.
Chabot said she filed the lawsuit so “no other student has to endure what I did.”
“What happened to me should not happen without accountability,” she added.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, statutory penalties and other costs. The Lawfare Project is seeking relief under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York Civil Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, and the New York General Business Law, as well as claims for breach of contract and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
If the lawsuit proceeds to discovery, New College will be required to turn over tens of thousands of documents related to the case so attorneys can diagnose possible structural failures at the university that contributed to its permissive attitude toward Shabot’s discrimination.
In May, the Student Senate voted to defund Hillel, according to the New York Post. Hillel is an organization that serves as a center for Jewish student life on nearly 850 campuses across the United States.
“Continuing to fund Hillel at the New School will mean that your student fees will be used to support actions that violate international law,” the students’ union statement said of Hillel’s involvement in certain projects.
New College says students will not have the power to deprive Hillel of funding.