Sara Pursley is an assistant professor of modern Middle East history in the Departments of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and of History at New York University (NYU). As a member of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), she has been an outspoken defender of anti-Israel activism on campus, repeatedly aligning herself with petitions, statements, and protests that excuse or downplay antisemitism. Pursley has consistently used her academic platform to justify student activists involved in pro-Hamas encampments and to frame university discipline as repression.
Defense of Student Protesters
In May 2024, Pursley was quoted in an FSJP press release condemning NYU for punishing arrested student activists. She criticized the university’s requirement that students complete “reflection papers” and “integrity modules,” framing these measures as an attack on the right to “oppose genocide.” In May 2025, she used her X account to defend Logan Rozos, a student who gave a pro-Palestinian commencement speech. Pursley called Rozos’s words “courageous” and condemned NYU for withholding his diploma, accusing the university of supporting “doxxing attacks” against him instead of upholding “free speech.”
Petitions and Public Letters
Pursley has signed numerous statements and petitions over the past decade that align with pro-Palestinian activism and anti-Israel rhetoric:
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April 2024: Signed a letter condemning NYU’s “repression of pro-Palestine activism” following the campus encampment crackdown.
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April 2024: Signed a statement by academics condemning Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s educational infrastructure.
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March 2024: Signed a boycott statement targeting the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, accusing it of complicity with “Zionist apartheid.”
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October 2023: Signed a public statement warning of “potential genocide in Gaza.”
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December 2024: Signed an international petition demanding St Andrews University reverse a decision silencing its rector for criticism of Israel.
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Earlier actions (2014): Signed multiple petitions during the 2014 Gaza war, including one by the BDS movement urging academics not to speak at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and another letter to President Obama and Congress condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Pattern of Activism
Through these actions, Pursley has repeatedly aligned herself with campaigns that delegitimize Israel while defending disruptive campus protests. By casting antisemitic encampment activity and pro-Hamas slogans as legitimate “resistance” and “academic freedom,” she contributes to a climate where Jewish students face harassment and intimidation under the cover of faculty support.
Conclusion
Sara Pursley’s involvement with FSJP and her consistent defense of anti-Israel activism place her among NYU faculty who have normalized antisemitic rhetoric on campus. By using her position to shield disruptive and threatening behavior from accountability, she has helped fuel an environment of hostility toward Jewish students and undermined campus safety.
