A video circulating online shows two anti-Israel protesters at New York University struggling to explain the purpose of the demonstrations. The clip, posted on X by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, shows a young woman at an NYU protest site fumbling when asked "why" they were there.
"I think the main goal is just showing our support for Palestine and demanding that NYU stop…I honestly don't know all of what NYU is doing," she admitted.
When asked if there was "something NYU is doing," the student responded, "I really don't know, I'm pretty sure they are."
Turning to her friend, she asked if she knew what NYU was doing? The friend, wearing a mask, responded, "About what?" The first woman then asked, "About Israel. Why are we protesting, here at NYU specifically?" The friend responded, "I wish I was more educated."
The first student said she came from Columbia: "We came down, they said NYU needed our support. I've heard there are lot of cops and people were saying it was getting dangerous."
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani commented on the video, saying, “The young woman in this video is the perfect example of the modern American Left and their indoctrination of young people. They don't know what they're doing and are serving as tools to something much more sinister,” reported Fox News. "She's just one of many examples of the deterioration of our education system here in America,” he said.
The protester in the video is a Fordham University student, who traveled to Columbia and NYU to support other demonstrators. More than 150 protesters at NYU were arrested on Monday. However, protests continued at NYU on Wednesday following a walkout the day before.
Students at universities across the US are staging encampments to protest the war in Gaza and US support for Israel. Alongside calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, students are demanding an end to US military aid to Israel and university disinvestments from companies benefitting from the conflict. They are also seeking relief for students and faculty disciplined or fired for taking part in anti-Israel protests.
