New York City university students from a coalition of pro-Palestine organisations targeted the Baruch College Hillel centre on Tuesday, shouting, “Baruch Hillel, go to hell,” “Dogs off campus,” and “All Zionists are terrorists.”

Less than a week after the fall term began at Baruch College, a constituent college of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, student protesters from various CUNY schools gathered at Baruch’s campus to demand their universities “cut ties with Hillel and boycott the Zionist entity,” according to an Instagram post about the protest shared by Baruch’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The protesters, wearing keffiyehs and face coverings, chanted outside the Jewish centre at Baruch College: “We don’t want no Zionists here,” “Dogs off campus,” “all Zionists are terrorists,” “Baruch Hillel, go to hell,” and “you’re from Brooklyn, not the Middle East.”

Videos taken during the demonstration also show a small group of counter-protesters holding Israeli and American flags and chanting, “Am Yisrael Chai” and “USA, USA.” It is unclear how many students with either the pro-Palestine protest or the counter-protest were Baruch students. A source from CUNY has said the Baruch SJP group is not affiliated with Baruch College. 

Tuesday’s demonstration was not Baruch College’s first brush with anti-Israel hostility. Last week, protesters gathered outside the Hillel with a banner that said, “Bring the war home” beside an image of an assault rifle, and a sign that said, “Let the intifada pave the way for people’s war.” They also carried a sign that said, “Hillel go to hell,” with an upside-down red triangle, according to images protesters posted on social media. The symbol has been used by Hamas to mark its targets in propaganda videos.

In June, pro-Palestine groups demonstrated against Baruch Hillel and accused the Jewish campus group of murdering children and supporting genocide, while the month prior, an event at the Hillel was cancelled due to pro-Palestinian protest activity. Activists at the demonstration in June wore Hamas headbands and repeatedly formed inverted triangles with their hands toward counter-protesters.

The Anti-Defamation League condemned the latest Baruch protest on Tuesday, saying on X that they are “appalled” by demonstrators’ calls to cut ties with the campus Hillel and “to equate Zionists with terrorists and dogs,” and calling on the Baruch College President David Wu to condemn the statements.

According to its website, Baruch College Hillel serves nearly 2,000 Jewish students on a large commuter campus and has helped establish affiliated Hillel centres at a further eight CUNY schools since 2015.

The college, previously called the City College School of Business and Civic Administration, was named Baruch College after a Jewish graduate of the school who later became a successful financier and adviser to two US presidents.

CUNY, Baruch College and Baruch Hillel have been contacted for comments.