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Jewish student was ‘pushed and spat on,’ lawsuit alleges
Sophie Shabot, an American Jew with Israeli citizenship, is suing The New School over alleged antisemitic harassment and discrimination, claiming she experienced verbal abuse and social exclusion on campus.
“As Shabot walked on and around campus, students hurled antisemitic and antiIsrael epithets at her, including ‘Zio cunt,’ ‘Zio bitch,’ ‘baby-killer,’ and ‘genocidal maniac,’” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit lists several incidents in which Shabot was allegedly pushed, ambushed, and “verbally assaulted,” among other things.
“Shabot was taunted by her classmates and her workspace was vandalized. She was pushed and spat on and, as she attempted to flee the assault, a protester screamed at her through a megaphone, ‘Fuck Israel, fuck you, bitch,’” it states.
In addition, the school “was saturated with antisemitic and anti-Israel protests, graffiti, leaflets, and signs in violation of the University’s time, place, and manner restrictions,” the lawsuit states.
TNS allegedly refused to enforce its own policies when Shabot reported these incidents. In fact, “TNS even rewarded violators” at times.
“Most notably, during one unauthorized anti-Israel encampment, President Donna Shalala (“President Shalala”) gave the participating students money to purchase dinner and publicly announced that she was proud of what they were doing,” according to the lawsuit.
Ziporah Reich, director of litigation at The Lawfare Project, filed the lawsuit on Shabot’s behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Reich told The College Fix via email the legal team reviewed Shabot’s account and determined there were grounds to pursue legal action.
“We are pursuing this litigation to hold The New School accountable for the conduct alleged in the complaint,” she said.
Reich believes that the school did not fulfill its obligations under Title VI. “Universities have a legal obligation to protect students from unlawful discrimination and harassment,” Reich said.
Gadi Dotz, assistant director for StandWithUs Saidoff Law, told The Fix he was upset, but not surprised by this case.
“Shabot’s allegations are upsetting, though not entirely surprising,” Dotz said. “They reflect the much larger issue of institutional indifference to antisemitic harassment that students experience too often on campus.”
StandWithUs is an international nonpartisan education organization that supports Israel and combats antisemitism.
Dotz said he regularly deals with cases of Jewish discrimination of students. “Even where policies exist to protect these students from harassment, school disciplinary processes often break down when administrators fail to recognize and address these issues properly,” he said.
Dotz also told The Fix that the StandWithUs Campus team provides support and educational resources to students across the U.S.
“When unlawful harassment occurs, our attorneys help students at every stage, from understanding their rights, to navigating their school’s disciplinary processes, to filing administrative complaints and lawsuits,” he said.
In a similar case at The New School, a graduate named Brandon White sued in 2025, alleging assault and antisematic slurs from his peers who mistakenly thought he was Jewish.
Dotz’s team also helped with this case. The judge dismissed the lawsuit, as he “did not plausibly show he was targeted because he was perceived as Jewish or Israeli,” according to Jerusalem News Syndicate.
However, White amended the lawsuit and refiled later.
“In the case of Brandon White, the StandWithUs legal team assisted Brandon during the university’s investigation process and continues to support his lawsuit against The New School,” Dotz said.
“Students should know that they’re not alone and can come to organizations like StandWithUs for support when they face this kind of discriminatory treatment,” he added.
The Fix sent multiple emails to The New School requesting additional information about the lawsuit. It did not respond.
However, TNS spokesperson Will Wilbur told Fox News Digital, “The New School does not tolerate antisemitism. We are dedicated to maintaining a campus environment where students can learn and grow free from harassment or discrimination of any kind.”
