Student groups planning a protest on Thursday at Manhattan’s Hunter College are using classical antisemitic tropes for advertising.

The rally is part of a nationwide campaign called “Million Student March,” demanding tuition-free education and the cancellation of student debt.

The New York activists all attend schools within the City University of New York (CUNY) system – the largest urban university system in the US.

The Facebook ad for the event reads:

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Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the leading Jewish human rights organization the Simon Wiesenthal Center, blasted the ad, in which students are accusing “Zionists” for their financial plight.

“This memo debunks the myth that there is any difference to bigots between the words and concepts of ‘Israeli,’ ‘Zionist’ or ‘Jew,’” Rabbi Cooper told The Algemeiner on Wednesday.

“It is long overdue that the Jewish community demand of church leaders, academics, elected officials, The New York Times and other media to publicly denounce such rhetoric and imagery for what it is: Jew-hatred. Left unchallenged, such hate will poison the attitudes of many of our neighbors towards the world’s largest Jewish community in New York and far beyond. That, in fact, is the goal of these bigots.”

In its “Statement of Autonomy,” the Million Student March asserts it “is not affiliated or aligned with any established political party, candidate or organization,” and describes the US as a “a broken political and economic system, structured to benefit the few at the expense of the many. A capitalist, neo-liberal social order fueled by exploitation and fear, systemic inequality and deceit. A society of isolated and alienated consumers through which widespread homelessness, hunger, misery and illiteracy are acceptable while truth and integrity are suspect.”

Its detailed online Million Student March Organizing Guide lists Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals among recommended reading materials. Alinsky, known as the “founder of modern community organizing,” was a mentor to President Barack Obama in his early years as a community organizer in Chicago.