The City University of New York’s law school is in hot water after hosting a radically anti-Israel commencement speaker.
Fatima Mohammed was selected by the 2023 graduating class to speak at their ceremony on May 12th:
And boy, what a selection they made.
Mohammed’s statements clarified the school’s position on Israel-Palestine relations.
“I want to celebrate CUNY Law as one of the few, if not the only, law schools to make a public statement defending the rights of its students to organize and speak out against Israeli settlement colonialism,” she proudly proclaimed.
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She calls out the general CUNY governing body as a “self serving institution” for “training and cooperating with the fascist NYPD, and the military that continues to train IDF soldiers to carry out that same violence globally.”
Now that’s a mouthful. BDS is the movement advocating to boycott investments in all things Israel because of their treatment of Palestinians. IDF stands for the Israeli Defense Forces.
But Mohammed credits her law school specifically for bucking the rules of their parent group.
“This is the law school that has passed and endorsed BDS on a student and faculty level. Recognizing that absent of any critical imperial and settler colonial lens, I will work for the school’s mission statement value.”
Meaning, most other groups are too pro Israel, and therefore imperialistic, and, according to her, CUNY Law stands out as a beacon of anti-Israel hope.
Mohammed continues with her album of anti-Israel greatest hits.
She’ll keep fighting “as Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshippers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards, as it encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinian homes and businesses. As it imprisons its children, as it continues its project of settler colonialism by expelling Palestinians from their home. Their silence is no longer acceptable. We are the student body and faculty that fought back as an admin attempted to cross the picket line.”
Meaning, one CUNY administrator tried to do the right thing, and thought the anti-Israel efforts were just a bit too much.
“I chose CUNY for its articulated mission to be in the service of human needs. It’s one of the few legal institutions created to recognize the law as a manifestation of white supremacy that continues to oppress and suppress people in this nation and around the world.”
Didn’t see that one coming!
CUNY initially took the video down of Mohammed speaking. After some protests from the activist left, they chose to put it back up.
The Jewish Community Relations Council, one of the premier advocacy groups on behalf of the Jewish people in New York City, weighed in. They said the speech was “incendiary anti-Israel propaganda.”
“This particular commencement speech cast aside the principle of seeking truth in a shameless attempt to vilify CUNY’s constructive engagement with Israel and the New York Jewish community, and to denigrate Israel’s supporters on campus while trading in antisemitic tropes.”
The Anti Defamation League, another key pro Jewish organization, called this “yet another example of harm Jewish students experience on campus.”
Two GOP congressman just outside the NYC area also decried CUNY’s decision and the speaker’s statements.
In response to the controversy, CUNY Law told Fox Digital that, “Student speakers offered congratulatory remarks and their own individual perspectives on advocating for social justice. As with all such commencement remarks, they reflect the voices of those individuals.”
Translation? Not our problem!
Keep in mind, since it’s the City University of New York, the law school is receiving taxpayer funds. There’s a growing movement to have its public funding revoked for being too partisan and thus not reflective of taxpayers. Let’s see if the momentum builds.
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