Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the City University of New York to immediately shut down a “Palestinian Studies” professorship posting at Hunter College that critics argued promotes hateful instruction that demonizes Israel.
The governor also directed CUNY to probe the taxpayer-funded Upper East Side institution “to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom,” her office said in a Tuesday night statement.
In the job listing, the four-year CUNY college stated: “We seek a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality.”
Hochul and CUNY responded Tuesday night to the outrage from Jewish watchdog groups over the posting.
“Governor Hochul has directed CUNY to immediately remove this job posting and conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom,” a Hochul spokesperson told The Post.
“The Governor has continued to strongly condemn all forms of antisemitism and has made clear that hateful rhetoric of any kind has no place at CUNY or anywhere in New York State.”
The job listing has since been removed from CUNY’s website.
Critics said the alarming job description peddles antisemitism and is akin to courses offered in the Nazi-era, which ascribed all the world’s crimes to the Jewish population.
The Manhattan college, in its posting, said it was open to “diverse theoretical and methodical approaches” to teaching the contentious course.
CUNY officials “strongly agreed” with Hochul’s decision to remove the job listing, calling the language divisive, polarizing and inappropriate.
“We find this language divisive, polarizing and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s direction to remove this posting, which we have ensured Hunter College has since done,” Chancellor Felix Matos and Board of Trustees Chairperson William Thompson said in a joint statement to The Post.
“CUNY will continue working with the Governor and other stakeholders to tackle antisemitism on our campuses and combat hate in all of its forms.”
Hunter College, which initially defended the job posting Tuesday afternoon, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment regarding Hochul’s decision.
College leadership previously touted the school for its zero tolerance policy.
“Our current and future faculty are expected to be well-versed in all scholarship so they can dissect and debunk theories, not promote them,” the college said in a statement.
CUNY campuses have been infested with Israel bashing and antisemitism that spiked after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel and the resulting war in Gaza, critics claim.
Students, joined by some professors, disrupted and even vandalized some CUNY campuses with anti-Israel protests over the past year.
An independent probe commissioned by Hochul and released in September found that CUNY needs a top-to-bottom overhaul to combat “alarming’’ antisemitism fanned by its own faculty and do-nothing higher-ups.
The state is the principal source of funding for CUNY’s four-year schools such as Hunter, and the city chips in to help pay for its community colleges.
Read the full article here
