On One-Year Anniversary, CUNY Faculty Blast Union’s Denouncement of Israel
Faculty Urge Union to Come to the Table for Discussion and Discourse, Instead of Inciting Hate
Dozens of City of New York (CUNY) faculty representing numerous academic disciplines, today, issued a scathing denunciation of the PSC-CUNY “Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People” that was passed one year ago today. PSC is the union that represents 30,000 faculty and staff at CUNY.
The CUNY Alliance for Inclusion (CAFI), CUNY faculty who have banded together to combat antisemitism at CUNY and improve the campus climate for Jewish, Zionist, and all students, note in its statement, that PSC has never issued a resolution on the brutal Russian invasion and annihilation of innocent civilians in Ukraine, the Russian and Iranian assault on Syria, the mass imprisonment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and the suppression of civil liberties in Hong Kong. In fact, PSC has never issued a resolution on foreign affairs except for the hateful and biased resolution it issued in support of violent Palestinian leadership and the “Iranian paymasters of Hamas who instill hatred of Jews and Israel from the earliest age and spurn any resolution of the conflict that leaves Israel standing.”
In fact, PSC’s self-absorbed delusion is evident in its working statement on Russia’s invasion where it states, “[a]s educators, we value communication, dialogue, and mutual understanding as modes for resolving conflict, and we hold out hope that diplomacy and an avoidance of escalation can help bring an end to this war.” However, notes CAFI, “[a] similar appeal is not made to Hamas as it arms for its next war with Israel. Instead, Hamas is granted a pass; it is not even mentioned in the PSC resolution.”
The faculty members point out that the PSC “resolution is an iconic expression of a new antisemitism, a movement which is proud of its hostility to Israel and stands with Palestinian leadership sworn to destroy the Jewish state, no matter the cost to their people.”
According to the statement, the PSC-CUNY’s incendiary resolution dehumanizes those who yearn for peace, both among Palestinians and Israelis. By creating a false narrative and laying out a path towards the boycott of Israel, “the PSC resolution projects the hatred of Jews nurtured through the ages into our time and place.”
Instead of boycotts, CAFI has invited members of PSC to share their perspectives and to enter a dialogue about Israel and its place in the Middle East. In a separate letter sent today, CAFI suggests a confidential discussion and offers to send the book Israel, A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth, by Noa Tishby, Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization of Israel, as a basis for a productive conversation.
CAFI urges members of the PSC to familiarize themselves with the widely recognized definition of antisemitism endorsed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and to overturn their biased resolution. It further encourages PSC to learn more about Jewish identity and the Jewish experience, as well as contemporary antisemitism and its manifestations on campus, specifically recommending a Guide and Resource Book for Faculty & University Leaders released earlier this year by the Academic Engagement Network (AEN), an educational nonprofit which organizes and supports faculty across the country to combat campus antisemitism, increase literacy about Israel on campus and in the academy, and oppose academic boycotts.
Finally, CAFI urges all who oppose the call for CUNY to boycott Israel to visit its website and sign the CUNY Community Statement Encouraging Mutual Respect and Engagement Towards a Just Middle East Peace and a CUNY Free of Harassment.
