Cooper Union barricades Jewish students inside library as pro-Palestinian protesters bang on doors
A handful of Cooper Union’s Jewish students barricaded inside the university’s library Wednesday when pro-Palestinian protesters blew past security and aggressively pounded on the building’s doors.
A Jewish senior at the East Village institution recounted the terrifying moment she watched the demonstrators slam anti-Zionist posters against the window and shout “antisemitic rhetoric” just a few feet away.
“When they started banging on the door, my heart started pounding. I was crying. I think if the doors weren’t locked — I don’t know what would have happened,” the student, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Post.
“I don’t want to speculate what would’ve happened. It just makes me too nervous. I was absolutely terrified in that moment.”
The demonstrators — who were carrying Palestinian flags and “Zionism Hands Off Our Universities” signs — had scheduled the 1 p.m. demonstration outside the 7 E. 7th St. building when they decided to move through the interior.
It appeared as though they were heading toward university president Laura Spark’s office to demand she condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza Strip civilians when they pivoted to the library, the student said.
The group of several dozen demonstrators breezed past security’s feeble attempts to stop them from climbing the stairs as they chanted “Free Palestine,” video shows.
Security on the library’s 7th level locked the doors upon hearing the group come closer, preventing them from coming inside, but not stopping them from banging on the walls and continuing their chanting.
Several of the 11 Jewish students huddled inside the Cooper Union Library called 911 or contacted relatives who called the police for help.
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The NYPD was stationed at the demonstration the entire time, a spokesperson said.
No arrests or summonses were issued, and the ralliers left the building without incident.
It is not clear whether any officers entered the building during the demonstration, though the student witness claims the police never arrived because the university told them not to get involved.
Instead, a school administrator offered to discreetly escort the students out the back entrance of the building — which Sparks allegedly opted for herself upon hearing that the protesters were coming her way.
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“If they were scared, if the president was so scared that she left the building, then the police should have been called,” the student said.
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“Why would they leave the students in the building without police protection when the president of the school who was also targeted left herself?”
The 11 Jewish students opted to stay inside and ride out the protests.
When they walked outside, the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were standing silently outside displaying their signs.
According to the university’s media relations manager, the school closed down the library for approximately 20 minutes while the protest moved through the building.
“Some students who were previously in the Library remained during this time,” Kim Newman said in an email.
Newman did not immediately confirm the student’s claims that the university prevented police from intervening in the demonstration once it moved indoors or whether Sparks escaped the protesters.
Although she admitted she wasn’t sure whether the demonstrators were trying to get through the locked doors, the senior said she was left disappointed by the university’s actions.
“I think we’re all honestly scared. We don’t feel comfortable going back to school tomorrow,” she said.
“It felt crazy that once they overtook the security guards, they still don’t want the police to come in. So that doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t make sense to me that once the doors were locked — which means that they clearly felt we were in danger — they still didn’t let the police come in … It’s confusing to me that once [the president] left, we were still there and they didn’t let police come in.”
