Pro-Hamas cheerleaders have made one of the most important touchstones in a person’s life, the pride and accomplishment of commencement, all about themselves.
But one brave little girl turned the tables on the protesters at NYU School of Law’s commencement on Thursday.
During the event, Palestinian flag-waving protesters, shrieking hateful chants, refused to leave the stage.
Protestors demonstrate at NYU Law School graduation pic.twitter.com/fQiaF1wRJX
— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) May 16, 2024
Law school Dean Troy McKenzie pleaded with a student holding a Palestinian flag to stop disrupting the event and leave the stage, saying, “You made your point.”
But the disruptions didn’t stop brave six-year-old Eden Rose Neiger from joining her graduating mother, Devorah Neiger, and two siblings from walking on stage to mark an important moment for her family.
Once on stage, Eden raised a picture of a purple heart she drew while waiting in the audience and handed it to Dean McKenzie.
Her proud father, Edward Neiger, said, “The mood and energy completely changed – she got the biggest applause of the whole ceremony.”
According to The New York Post, Edward added, “There was tension in the room – you didn’t know what was going to happen next. While some students disrupted the ceremony with symbols of hate, Eden drew a purple heart as a symbol of love.”
“She got such resounding applause” in a day that was dominated by “darkness,” said the mom, noting that the politically charged acts were “really jarring and shocking.”
“You just have to sit there and take it – you don’t want to stoop to that level, even though every part of your body wants to stand up to them,” said Devorah Neiger, who added that the artistic gesture was her daughter’s decision alone.
“We did not put her up to this.”
As they left the stage, Eden told her mom, “That was kind of brave of me.”
Judy Kayne, a Westchester teacher in attendance, was in full agreement.
“All of a sudden, this little girl gets up on the stage with her mother holding a piece of paper with a big heart,” recalled Kayne, who said it elicited standing ovations. “It was very powerful to me – the innocence of a child is all you want in this world. It was beautiful – children don’t know about hatred. That picture is sort of the answer to all of this hate.”
