No Disruptions as Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter Speaks in McCosh Hall
Two people at a Nassau Hall protest were asked to leave because they weren’t following Princeton’s policies, the University said
No protesters disrupted a speaker event featuring Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Tuesday night, but two attendees of a pro-Palestinian protest outside Nassau Hall were removed from campus.
A statement from University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill said that “two individuals were asked to leave the protest area after not abiding University policies.” Morrill declined to say when asked whether they were part of the University community.
Leiter was invited to campus by B’Artzeinu, a Zionist student organization. The event was co-sponsored by Tigers for Israel, the Scharf Family Chabad House, the Center for Jewish Life, and Princetonians for Free Speech.
Before being named Israeli ambassador to the United States in January 2025, Leiter was active in the settlement movement, advocating for the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The settlements are considered illegal by the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.
Leiter also worked as chief of staff for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he served as Israel’s finance minister. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Leiter was formerly a member of the extremist Jewish Defense League. The Jewish nationalist group was classified as a terrorist organization by the United States in 2001.
“While we disagree with Amb. Yechiel Leiter’s support for settlement growth in the occupied West Bank, we support free expression and engaging with ideas with which we disagree,” wrote Maddy Denker ’27 in a statement on behalf of JStreetU Princeton, a group that characterizes itself as “pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy.”
“We call on students to denounce the choice to bring Leiter to campus and his pro-settlement advocacy,” wrote Princeton’s Alliance of Jewish Progressives in a statement posted to Instagram. Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine also decried the event and encouraged students to join a concurrent protest outside Nassau Hall.
The atmosphere was tense ahead of the event, and attendees were handed sheets with QR codes asking them to report disruptions via a form that would be reviewed by free speech facilitators and Public Safety.
A spotlight is on universities nationwide as the Trump administration withholds research funding from schools it says have permitted antisemitism in the form of pro-Palestinian protests. Two weeks ago at Princeton, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited campus to much uproar, and multiple interruptions by protestors triggered a University investigation. At least one protestor who disrupted the talk was unaffiliated with the University, and it was unclear how he was able to enter an event closed to the public. On Monday, the University reminded the campus that those who disrupt speakers should expect to receive only one warning before facing “immediate removal” or other consequences.
Security was tight at Leiter’s talk, with a large contingent of Public Safety officers stationed at McCosh Courtyard and inside the building. University IDs were checked at the door and bags were not allowed into McCosh 10, which was about a third full.
Leiter spoke about grieving his son, who served in Israel’s military and was killed a week after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He emphasized common talking points about Israel’s strength being necessary for its safety and for humanitarian efforts around the world. He also stated that in his view, a person could not be both anti-Zionist and “a lover of Judaism,” a sentiment that is rejected by some Jewish organizations.
After the program ended, one attendee yelled “Goodbye Mr. Genocide!” toward the ambassador while exiting.
Following the talk, a group of about 50 pro-Palestinian protestors gathered outside before marching back to Nassau Hall and dispersing around 10 p.m.
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2 Responses
Bill Staedeli ’85
3 Months AgoGet Serious About Speech Interruptions
Here is the statement on disruption from the administration — touted as an improvement.
“Going forward, attendees at University events should expect a single warning not to disrupt an event or prevent an invited guest from speaking. Disruptive behavior may result in immediate removal from the event and disciplinary action or other consequences.”
Let me see if I can crack the code. “A single warning” means “one free shot” to disrupt a speaker. “Should expect” translates to “or maybe more, it depends.” And “disruptive behavior may result in ...” signals passivity.
You are either serious about protecting speech or you are not serious. A serious administration might have communicated something like this: “Those who disrupt a speaker will be immediately removed and may face additional consequences.”
Richard M. Waugaman ’70
3 Months AgoLeiter’s Stance Leaves No Room for Critics
Ambassador Leiter “also stated that in his view, a person could not be both anti-Zionist and a lover of Judaism.” His authoritarian stance will just create more antisemitism, if criticism of what in my view is Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people is deemed antisemitic. Clearly, it’s not his right to tell the millions of American Jews who condemn Israel’s war on the Palestinians that they are antisemites.