Jewish Queens Link is a local publication but it shares news worthy of a global audience. They posted yet another disturbing bit of news about the ongoings at CUNY (City University of New York, a public university system).
I shared with you in the last few months the ongoing antisemitism at CUNY college, specifically the antisemitic graduation speech at its law school and other policies as well as sentiments espoused by both faculty and staff. All of it seems to target the Jew, while vailing it under the guise of free speech, political speech or the apparition of “anti-Zionism”— which are all just smoke and shadow efforts to obscure age-hold jew hate.
With Gestapo-type methods, CUNY is now targeting Jewish professors for their “crime” of complaining about years of antisemitism felt by both students and faculty among the 24+ campuses within the system. Undisclosed “investigations” and questionings as well as surveys with no due process or document disclosure are taking place against professors who are Jewish or otherwise known to be Zionist.
In addition to over 10 years of documented complaints by students and professors of discrimination and harassment for their positions as either Jews, Zionists, or both, the general public has full access to the public face of it with the 2022 and 2023 CUNY Law School commencement speakers. The first being Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who blasted the Jewish State during her 2022 commencement address and then CUNY Law by Fatima Mousa Mohammed who turned her opportunity to be grateful and forward-thinking into another soap box to denounce the Jewish state and its supporters.
“These are the most public-facing and viral incidents at CUNY, yet not the only ones. In early 2022, Professor Jeff Lax, who has dedicated 17 years to Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, disclosed a distressing series of events that highlight the deep-rooted discrimination and hostility faced by Jewish faculty members. Professor Lax recounts a chilling incident where he found himself trapped by five members of the Progressive Faculty Caucus (PFC), a group known for their political stance. He alleges that an associate professor raised his hand in a threatening manner and ominously declared, “We’re just starting.” ‘
Lax also reveals that he was singled out by name in a faculty survey, which contained troubling references to “Zionist faculty who preserve positions of authority through nepotism.” He describes a chilling atmosphere of hostility towards Orthodox and Zionist faculty members. Other faculty members, like Mike Goldstein, an adjunct professor, have similarly faced ostracism and intimidation. Goldstein’s experience of threats, defacement of personal belongings, and isolation reflect a disturbing trend within the institution.
Prominent and careful thinkers are calling for a change at CUNY, which unfortunately is representing a trend and set of circumstances not exclusive to CUNY.
New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer called for a federal civil rights probe of anti-Semitism at CUNY. David Hirsch, who is running for State Assembly, “CUNY has become a bastion of anti-Semitism under Chancellor Rodríguez.”
And StopAntiSemitism’s executive director Liora Rez noted, “Enough is enough! CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez must step down. He has done nothing to properly fight anti-Semitism and is miserably failing to protect CUNY’s Jewish students against hate,”
Professor Lax himself has confirmed that he is one of the four professors under investigation and likened the situation to a 1930s Germany-style purge of faculty in academia.
For more details on this situation at CUNY as well as the broader context, please read the short article in its entirety located in the Queens Jewish Link—share it with your friends and family and on your social networks. Do not let academia continue to spiral into the habits and sentiments of centuries past, which was not isolated to only Germany—they just took it to its logical, and grotesque conclusion. We mustn’t let it happen again.
Shavua Tov, have a great week.