Kathy Hochul orders review of antisemitism at CUNY as hate surges at colleges
New York’s former top judge is being brought in to investigate antisemitism and discrimination at the City University of New York as colleges across the state deal with a wave of hate.
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the probe and called out college campuses for allowing antisemitism to fester, especially following Hamas’ attack on Israel earlier this month.
“The problem didn’t begin with the weeks following Oct. 7 attacks. It’s been growing on a number of campuses and seen most acutely in the City University of New York,” Hochul said.
Jonathan Lippman, a former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals will review the “policies and procedures related to antisemitism and discrimination” at CUNY.
“We will cooperate with Judge Lippman’s review as we work to build on the progress we’ve made combatting antisemitism across our campuses,” a CUNY spokesperson said.
Speaking with the Post Monday, Lippman said he wants to analyze the actual atmosphere at CUNY and not just focus on formal written policies stuffed somewhere in an administrative handbook.
“How does it look on the ground? What are the protocols and procedures in place? Are they followed? Do they work? And what can we recommend systemically, that will make it better? Lippman said.
The judge, who now works in private practice at multinational law firm Latham & Watkins, said he offered to do the work for the Governor pro-bono.
“The governor asked me to do this and I believe this is such an important public issue I decided that I would do this as a public service,” Lippman said.
Lippman’s investigation is expected to be completed by the spring, Hochul’s office said.
Allegations of antisemitism at CUNY predate the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
In May a graduate speaking at CUNY’s law school commencement called for a “revolution” that would be “fuel for the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world.”
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
The woman, Fatima Mousa Mohammed, also ripped the school for working with Israel’s military in a speech that caused so much outrage CUNY law eliminated commencement speakers for next year.
Hochul’s speech comes a day after she visited with students at Cornell’s Jewish Living Center who’ve been the target of death threats anonymously posted online.
A history professor at the university went viral after calling Hamas’ attack “energizing” and “exhilarating.”
“I’ve spoken to the SUNY and CUNY, Chancellor’s, and representatives of private universities to share our concerns about the consequences of free speech, crossing the line into hate speech by both students and professors,” Hochul said.
Yesterday, Hochul said she condemns the Cornell professor, Russel Rickford, who is now on leave from the Ivy League university.
“We cannot allow any New Yorker to live in fear. For the day we are willing to accept that is the day that our moral compass has broken and spun out of control,” the governor said.
Some think Hochul’s investigation is to too little too late.
“Talk is cheap,” Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Antisemitism said. “I’ll believe it when I see results.”
“The rampant antisemitism at CUNY has been festering for years and it’s a shame it had gone unchecked for so long,” Republican Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said. “The governor’s call for an investigation is absolutely appropriate, even if it’s overdue.”
