The Lawfare Project filed a lawsuit against The New School on October 7, the third anniversary of Hamas's attacks on Israel, alleging that Jewish student Sophie Shabot faced severe antisemitic harassment. According to the complaint, Shabot endured name-calling and physical obstruction due to her religious beliefs and support for Israel, with university officials allegedly failing to intervene effectively or penalizing Jewish students instead. The lawsuit includes claims under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and New York state civil rights laws, seeking damages and other relief on behalf of Shabot.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On October 7, The Lawfare Project filed a lawsuit against The New School on behalf of a Jewish Israeli-American student named Sophie Shabot, who alleged she faced "relentless antisemitic harassment" at the university. The incident marks the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel. Shabot claims she endured name-calling such as "Zio b----," "baby killer," and was obstructed from entering certain areas based on her religious and pro-Israeli views. Additionally, protesters vandalized a Hillel event featuring an Israeli speaker, trapping Shabot and other Jewish students in a dean's office. The Lawfare Project asserts that university officials did not take adequate measures to address the harassment and at times even rewarded those responsible.
Written for “Jewish Student Lawsuit Antisemitic Ha…” on 2026-10-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 63871: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-07
The Lawfare Project announced on the third anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that it filed a lawsuit against The New School on behalf of a Jewish Israeli-American student it alleged faced "relentless antisemitic harassment, intimidation, and physical assault" as a student at the New York university.
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it → announce → university
According to the legal group, New School student Sophie Shabot faced numerous instances of name-calling, intimidation and obstruction based on her religion and support for Israel at the Parsons School of Design.
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Shabot → accord → Design
She was reportedly called names like "Zio b----" and "baby killer" and prevented from entering the University Center.
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She → call → Center
In another instance, protesters allegedly vandalized and disrupted a Hillel event featuring an Israeli speaker in 2024.
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protesters → vandalize → 2024
Shabot was among several Jewish students who were trapped in a dean's office as a group of protesters attempted to have them turn over the speaker.
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them → trap → speaker
According to The Lawfare Project, university officials failed to stop the harassment against Shabot and other Jewish students and even "at times rewarded those responsible."
"There is no question in my mind that the New School violated its Title VI obligations and other obligations under the law in not intervening and taking meaningful action to stop the antisemitic, anti-Israeli harassment that my plaintiff endured while she was at the New School," Lawfare Project director of litigation Ziporah Reich told Fox News Digital.
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Reich → accord → Digital
Reich, who also filed the lawsuit, added that more often than not, Jewish students like Shabot were the ones who faced consequences at universities following antisemitic actions by other students.
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who → file → students
"If the pro-Hamas protesters are essentially threatening your physical safety when you're trying to have a Jewish event, let's just shut down the event to make sure you're safe.
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you → threaten → event
When a group of pro-Hamas protesters occupy a space in which you're supposed to have an event, let's just move you somewhere else to a smaller, less accommodating place.
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's → occupy → place
In other words, she was bearing the brunt of the consequences for the negative harassment of the offenders," Reich said.
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she → bear → offenders
Reich also acknowledged the significance of filing the lawsuit Wednesday on the anniversary of the attacks that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and led to more than 250 people being abducted.
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people → acknowledge → Israel
"It's extremely important for the Jewish community to recognize that what happened immediately after Oct. 7 didn't end immediately after Oct. 7 because the harassment of Jewish students and Jews everywhere has continued and even if it has lessened to some extent in certain universities, it has not gone away.
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it → recognize → universities
It's essentially in a quiet period where we know that at any minute it can rear its ugly head again.
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it → know → head
These students are activists without a cause," Reich said.
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Reich → say → cause
The lawsuit brings claims under Title VI, New York state and city civil and human rights laws and claims for breach of contract and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
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lawsuit → bring → distress
It is seeking damages, statutory penalties, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief and demands a jury trial.
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It → seek → trial
Fox News Digital reached out to The New School for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Digital → reach → response
The New School's Parsons School of Design was previously sued by the Dhillon Law Group in 2025 over similar allegations made by graduate Brandon White.
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School → sue → White
White claimed that the school had opened a disciplinary investigation against him after he reported incidents of harassment while his assailants received no retaliation.
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assailants → claim → retaliation
The New School was also one of multiple universities overtaken by anti-Israel protesters after the Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
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School → overtake → Israel
In 2024, protesters occupied the Welcome Center in Manhattan to get the school's board of trustees to vote on divesting from companies supporting Israel.
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board → occupy → Israel
This came amid two encampments on campus, with one led by students and one led by faculty.
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This → come → faculty