Sinister pro-Hamas leaflets have appeared on the New York University campus amid fears of rampant anti-Semitism and threatening behavior at protests.
Signs declaring “Death to America” and “Long live the intifada” have been plastered around the Manhattan College camp in Gaza, days after more than 100 protesters were arrested in furious clashes with New York police .
The police force shared images of the flyers on Friday, highlighting the “inflammatory literature and posters” seen at the “illegal camp.”
It comes as universities across the United States have struggled to control pro-Palestinian protests, with aggressive police action sparking outrage and arrests exceeding 2,000 nationwide.
Sinister pro-Hamas leaflets have appeared on the New York University campus, including calls for “Death to America” and “Long live the intifada.”
The NYPD also shared an image of a separate flyer that said “those calling for peace are chasing a mirage.”
Hundreds of NYU protesters have been arrested in recent weeks amid furious clashes with NYPD.
While New York universities, including NYU and Columbia, have continued to see hostile clashes between protesters and police, nearby Rutgers University became one of the first to close its encampment this week.
On Thursday, the New Jersey institution reached an agreement with protesters on eight of their ten demands, including severing its partnership with Tev Aviv University and creating Arab Cultural Centers on all campuses.
Although the conflict at the Rutgers camp apparently only extended to counterprotesters chanting “USA,” the NYPD shared images of the NYU campus with more threatening protest demonstrations.
On one poster, activists called to “disrupt/reclaim/destroy Zionist business interests everywhere,” along with: “Death to America.”
‘Duck or rot! Do what you want!’ the sign said. ‘Long live the intifada!’
In another flyer, protesters said they had “enough with the de-escalation training: where are the de-escalation training?”
“We can choose to learn how to build effective barricades, how to link arms more effectively to resist police attacks, or what type of expanding foam works best on the type of doorknobs present at our universities,” he said.
“This is not rhetoric, it is an urgent need.”
The poster also pointed to references to “outside agitators” – or “professional protesters” – who were pretending to be students to join the cause, saying they would actually be welcomed into the movement.
“In the eyes of our enemies in the belly of the beast, we are all external agitators,” the flyer concluded.
Pro-Palestinian students at New York University link arms as they occupy a seat at the university on April 26, 2024.
The NYPD also shared an image of a separate flyer that said “those calling for peace are chasing a mirage.”
“As for the resistance: hit them everywhere,” he said. ‘What kind of life is this that we live in peace with those who abuse our blood and the blood of our children, our men, our sisters?’
‘To the enemies: The time of calm that you sing of will not return… you will not find a truce from us.’
The threatening signs at New York University appear as Jewish students at nearby Columbia University shared their terrifying encounters with protesters with DailyMail.com.
Rory Wilson, a 22-year-old history student, shared his story of confronting an anti-Israel mob, which left him “trapped against the door” and fearing for his safety.
He said: ‘After a friend and I made our way into the heart of the crowd milling around Hamilton Hall, I looked out at the masked, screaming masses illuminated by the constant flashing of cameras.
‘My adrenaline shot up.
‘We began to remove a table leaning against the doors and the crowd realized that we were not with them.
‘They started accusing us of helping the genocide and calling us idiots for taking risks for nothing.
Jewish Columbia student Rory Wilson, a 22-year-old history student, shared his story of confronting an anti-Israel mob with DailyMail.com.
We were trapped against the door. I played contact sports in the past, so a group of screaming Barnard girls half my size didn’t faze me, but then a man dressed all in black jumped up next to us.
“He looked at me through the crack of his mask and I recognized that he had harassed me several days earlier, calling me a ‘Zionist endogater.'” He had no idea if he was a student or what he was willing to do.
“He started grabbing me, pulling on my leg, trying to get me away from the doors. After a brief struggle, he jumped off and the screaming crowd returned. In the end a friend got me out of there safely.
‘Now, looking back, I am grateful to God for the opportunity to have faced them. However, I am saddened that the university allowed the situation to devolve into such chaos and intimidation.”