The event, held in Manhattan and part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, turned into a demonstration as students displayed Palestinian flags, chanted slogans and held signs calling for the school to divest from Israel. The protest erupted as the dean began her speech, with demonstrators shouting and some ascending the stage wearing keffiyehs.

Noriel Gedalia, a 70-year-old Israeli-American from New Jersey, attended the ceremony with his wife to celebrate his daughter’s graduation. “It was simply horrifying,” he told Ynet, an Israeli news outlet. “Pro-Palestinian students disrupted the ceremony, went on stage, and the administration did nothing to stop it. I started filming like they do, and it nearly turned violent.”

Gedalia said the protest had been widely expected, with student organizers announcing plans in advance. When the protest began, he said at least half the students in the hall clapped in support, while university officials allowed the program to continue without interruption.
“The dean acknowledged the differing opinions in her speech and continued as if nothing had happened,” Gedalia said. “That’s what shocked me the most.”