Swastika flag raised at NYU graduation event reported as hate crime; NYPD investigating

Cayla Bamberger and Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News on May 14, 2026

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NEW YORK — A flag with two swastikas was raised at New York University during a graduation-week event on Thursday night, an incident reported as a hate crime and currently under investigation by the NYPD.

The banner, apparently modeled on the flag of Israel with a Star of David and two horizontal stripes, appeared after 5 p.m. on the roof of an NYU building, the NYPD said. The building was identified by the student newspaper Washington Square News as Steinhardt, which houses NYU’s education programs and is named after Jewish philanthropists Michael and Judy Steinhardt.

Michael Steinhardt is the co-founder of Birthright Israel, which sends Jewish college students on free trips to Israel. The trips have increasingly become a target for pro-Palestinian protests.

“We are shocked and deeply troubled that this hateful symbol expressing antisemitism was raised on a flagpole overlooking Washington Square Park,” said NYU spokesman Wiley Norvell. “Campus safety responded immediately to remove it and we are working closely with the NYPD to identify whoever is responsible.”

“We are one community. We protect each other. And we will not let hate and division find a foothold on our campus.”

Cops were called Thursday to a nearby administrative building on West 4th Street where an adult man reported someone tampered with an NYU flag and added the two swastikas and Star of David.

NYU filed a harassment complaint as a hate crime, NYPD said. There were no arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing as cops seek surveillance footage to see who went to the roof of the building.

It was not immediately clear how long the flag had been there before people called 911, though Washington Square News estimated it was about 15 minutes.

The student newspaper reported that hundreds of graduates and their friends and family were on the scene for NYU’s annual “Grad Alley” event, an outdoor street fair around Washington Square the day before commencement with food, school merchandise, games and live music.