City University of New York Law School Faces Backlash Over Anti-Israel Graduation Speech

NEW YORK — New York City’s public law school released video Thursday of a graduation ceremony that took place this month, featuring a speech that pro-Jewish organizations at the city’s universities gave characterized as discriminatory.

The speaker accuses Israel of “indiscriminate” murders and incitement to “lynchings”, inviting resistance to “Zionism everywhere in the world”.

The City University of New York (CUNY) Law School had kept the video to itself following criticism.

This is the second year in a row that the speaker at the graduation ceremony engages in much of his speech on an anti-Israeli diatribe, reviving the long-running debate about the progress of anti-Semitism within the New York university system.

The problem crystallizes when anti-Zionism gives way to anti-Semitism.

The problem affects all American college campuses as well as progressive circles.

The City University of New York network has 25 faculties spread across New York’s five boroughs, and has some 260,000 students and 20,000 faculty. It is an integral part of the social fabric of the city.

The City University of New York Law School is one of its flagship institutions as well as a bastion of progressive politics and activism.

Both students and faculty have jointly supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel campaign.

The law school graduation ceremony on May 12 featured anti-Israel activist Fatima Mohammed. The school lecturer is traditionally chosen by the student body.

In his speech, Mohammad repeatedly blasted Israel, linking the Jewish state to white supremacism, oppression, colonialism and violence.

“The Law School has embraced and endorsed the BDS movement at the student and faculty level, recognizing that in the absence of a critical view of the imperialist character of settler colonialism, our work and the mission statement of the schools are worthless as Israel continues to rain bullets and bombs on worshipers indiscriminately, murdering the old, the young, and attacking funeral processions and cemeteries while encouraging lynchings. “, she said.

“We students and professors reacted when the administration, at the behest of its investors, attempted to challenge the BDS movement, saying loud and clear that Palestine could no longer be the exception to our quest for justice and that our morality could not be bought by investors,” she added.

Mohammad also said that the City University of New York “continues to train IDF soldiers” to engage in “violence on a global scale,” accusing the university system of being “dedicated to its donors, not its students”.

She repeatedly linked racism against black Americans to Israel, and said Jewish New York senator Chuck Schumer ‘rejoiced’ over the murder of Jordan Neely, a black man, on a subway from New York.

“Let us rejoice, in our New York apartments and be fuel for the struggle against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world,” she said in conclusion.

Mohammed is a member of the City University of New York Law School student organization Students for Justice in Palestine, spearheading the BDS movement and other anti-Israel initiatives on campus.

During the graduation ceremony, law school graduates also heckled New York City Mayor Eric Adams about his past in the police force and turned their backs on him while ‘he talked.

The press was not invited to this ceremony and the City University of New York Law School subsequently decided not to publish the video. City University of New York headquarters and law school headquarters did not respond to requests to release the video this month.

The law school ended up releasing the video on Thursday, along with other past graduation speeches.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups pressured the school to release the video.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) both condemned the speech.

A day earlier, the Council on Jewish Community Relations of New York announced a new partnership with the City University of New York to boost Jewish life on campus.

“Once again, the City University of New York Law School graduation speech by the student-selected speaker was a particularly provocative moment of anti-Israel propaganda,” the Council of New York Jewish Community Relations in a statement.

“This graduation speech has completely strayed from any desire for truth to shamelessly drag through the mud the City University of New York’s commitment to Israel, as well as the Jewish community of New York, and to disparage supporters of Israel on campus via anti-Semitic tropes,” he said.

“We urge the City University of New York to review its rules regarding graduation ceremonies. »

“Graduation should be a place for everyone, not a time to belittle the identity of certain students,” the ADL said.

“We are appalled to see such a display of blatant hostility towards ‘Zionists’ (which is how many Jews see themselves) and Israel in the City University of New York law school graduation speech. York,” the ADL added.

Last year, activist Nerdeen Kiswani delivered a lengthy anti-Israeli diatribe during his speech at the City University of New York law school.

Kiswani is a leader of Within Our Lifetime [De notre vivant]a pro-Palestinian organization, and was president of the student organization “Justice in Palestine” at the City University of New York School of Law.

Within Our Lifetime and Students for Justice in Palestine collaborate on campus initiatives and regularly organize street protests demanding an end to the Jewish state, the “Global Intifada” and the ostracism of Zionists.

Kiswani and Mohammed regularly speak at events.

These organizations refuse to talk to the “Zionist media”.

Within Our Lifetime member Saadah Masoud was jailed this year on federal hate crime charges for beating a Jewish man at one of the organization’s events. Masoud and his co-conspirators had planned to go after Jews before the event, calling them “Zionists,” not Jews, so as not to face charges of anti-Semitism.

Antisemitism has been a concern on the campuses of the City University of New York for several years: anti-Israel activities have increased and anti-Jewish crime has increased in New York.

Jewish organizations and city officials accuse the administration of tolerating anti-Jewish activities on campuses, while students report intense harassment.

The US Department of Education has opened an investigation into widespread harassment of Jewish students at City University of New York’s Brooklyn College, in addition to similar investigations on US campuses. The question often revolves around the equivalence between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

The City University of New York faculty union has also passed anti-Israel resolutions, much to the chagrin of Jewish professors.

The school system has taken steps to improve campus life for Jews.

In May, the City University of New York partnered with the Council on Jewish Community Relations of New York and the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism in a campaign against anti-Jewish racism.

“We will proudly continue to fight anti-Semitism: we want our Jewish students, professors and collaborators to know that they are dear to us and that they are safe in our university,” said Dean Félix Matos Rodríguez.

The Faculty administration also announced the creation of a new advisory council on Jewish life.

A campus organization representing Zionist professors and students called the announcements a cache-sex and called for more concrete action, including the adoption of the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism, which covers some forms of criticism of anti-Semitism. Israel.

In late 2022, the City University of New York committed to taking steps to combat anti-Semitism on its campuses, such as establishing a partnership with Hillel, creating an online portal to report discrimination and $750,000 for anti-hate programs.