NYU Law School cancels free speech event on October 7 with Jewish speaker

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(The Center Square) – New York University School of Law cancelled a Federalist Society event scheduled for Oct. 7 that concerned free speech and featured a conservative Jewish speaker, the school’s reasons for cancellation ranging from security to lack of space.

In a statement obtained by The Center Square, the event’s speaker, Ilya Shapiro, said: “I was grateful to the NYU students for inviting me to discuss my book and the crisis in higher education.”

Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute.

Shapiro said in the statement that he’s “enjoyed speaking [at NYU] in the past and was looking forward to a lively discussion of important issues.”

“But alas the law school administration caved to the threat of bigoted protest – God forbid there be a conservative Jewish speaker on October 7 – and forbade the use of campus facilities,” Shapiro said. 

“There could not be a more on-the-nose example of weak university officials in the face of a heckler’s veto than this farce,” Shapiro said.

In light of his new book "Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elite," Shapiro said: “I’d be happy to give NYU’s dean a copy of Lawless so he can ‘do the work’ of learning how to be an effective and principled leader.”

Neither NYU School of Law Dean Troy McKenzie nor NYU School of Law media relations responded to The Center Square’s individual requests for comment.

The Federalist Society relocated its event after being cancelled by NYU School of Law, according to a press release.

“Mr. Shapiro was originally scheduled to deliver remarks about campus speech issues at the NYU Law School on October 7, but the school blocked him from speaking specifically on October 7,” the release said.

An even bigger attendance is expected to this relocated event, according to information obtained by The Center Square, for the “nationally streamed conversation,” as Shapiro called it.

Now, Hon. Judge Lisa Branch and Hon. Judge Roy Altman will moderate a discussion with Ilya Shapiro and Nadine Strossen, a senior fellow at free speech group FIRE.

The discussion will be about “the free-speech climate on campus, which many have observed has worsened following the horrible attack on October 7, 2023 – and again with the murder of Charlie Kirk during a campus debate in Utah,” the release said.

“The panel will discuss why free speech is central to the Western tradition, particularly on campus,” the release said. “They will also discuss the significance of October 7 to the Jewish community, free speech controversies tied to this date, and campus anti-semitism.”

When reached, the Federalist Society referred The Center Square to the information within its news release as well as Shapiro’s statement and an article from the Washington Free Beacon.

According to emails obtained by the Free Beacon, on Sept. 10, the law school reached out to student organizers saying: “For security reasons, and because we anticipate an increased likelihood of demonstrations and protests connected to the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 incidents in Gaza, would it be possible to host Mr. Shapiro on another date?" 

The students agreed to moving locations of the event, but refused to move the date due to Shapiro’s availability and “to avoid giving in to the heckler’s veto,” the Free Beacon reported.

Communications eventually ended up with the school saying Shapiro could not be hosted at all on October 7, and that the issue was not the speaker, as the Free Beacon reported.

Explanations for the cancellation have ranged from security concerns to lack of space, with the school also claiming it did not cancel the event but requested a date change.

The NYU School of Law is hosting numerous other events on October 7, as evidenced by its website.