Julie Livingston is a professor of History and Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University (NYU). She has repeatedly aligned herself with campus movements that excuse antisemitism and target Jewish students. By signing faculty petitions, boycott resolutions, and public letters, she has provided academic cover for groups and causes that normalize hostility toward Israel and Jewish communities.
Defense of Campus Protesters
In April 2024, Livingston signed a letter criticizing NYU’s leadership for its crackdown on student protesters. The letter denounced “university leadership’s repression of pro-Palestine activism” and expressed “deep concern over the state of academic freedom,” effectively defending protests that fostered antisemitic activity on campus.
Support for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)
In January 2017, Livingston signed a letter authored by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), condemning Fordham University for blocking the creation of a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter. SJP has been responsible for antisemitic rhetoric and harassment of Jewish students across campuses, and Livingston’s endorsement gave faculty legitimacy to their efforts.
Academic Boycott Activity
Livingston has signed multiple resolutions and appeals advancing academic boycotts of Israel. In 2014, she endorsed a resolution calling on the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to boycott Israeli academic institutions. In April 2016, she co-authored an appeal urging medical anthropologists to join the boycott, claiming that Palestinian health challenges were “directly attributable to Israel’s occupation regime.”
Backing the Salaita Petition
In August 2014, Livingston signed a BDS petition urging a boycott of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign until it reinstated Steven Salaita. Salaita’s job offer was rescinded after he posted antisemitic tweets, including one wishing that Israeli settlers would “go missing.”
Conclusion
Julie Livingston’s record demonstrates a consistent pattern of excusing antisemitic campus activity, legitimizing extremist student groups like SJP, and promoting boycotts that isolate Israel in academia. Her actions contribute directly to an academic environment that emboldens antisemitism and threatens the safety of Jewish students.
