On Friday, November 13, the Brandeis Center issued a letter to CUNY Vice Chancellor Frank Sanchez, and CUNY Hunter College President Jennifer Raab, urging them to strongly condemn recent anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the CUNY system, specifically, the “Million Student March” at Hunter College that took place on Thursday, November 12. The NYC Students for Justice in Palestine Facebook event for the rally used anti-Semitic terminology to link the financial concerns of the CUNY student body to CUNY’s so-called “Zionist administration.” At the rally itself, student protestors chanted things like, “Zionists out of CUNY! Zionists out of CUNY,” and “Intifada! Intifada! Long live the Intifada.” The Brandeis Center calls on CUNY to condemn such behavior. The text of the letter is below: November 13, 2015 Dr. Frank D. Sanchez Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, CUNY 205 E. 42nd Street New York, NY 10017 frank.sanchez@cuny.edu President Jennifer J. Raab Hunter College, CUNY 695 Park Ave NY, NY 10065 president@hunter.cuny.edu VIA E-MAIL Dear Vice Chancellor Sanchez and President Raab: We write on behalf of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB), a national public interest advocacy organization established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all; and the LDB Law Student Chapter at CUNY Law School. As a national organization, we fight campus anti-Semitism through legal advocacy, and often work with university administrators nationwide to offer best practices on how to combat and prevent anti-Semitism on their campuses. We have been concerned about several recent incidents of troubling anti-Semitism, as well as anti-Semitism thinly-veiled as anti-Israelism, in the CUNY system. Just last week, we issued a letter to President Karen Gould about the need to speak out against troubling anti-Semitic activity and free speech issues at Brooklyn College. Today, we write out of concern over the “Million Student March” that took place on Thursday, November 12, at Hunter College. As you are likely aware, the “Million Student March” is a nationwide campaign demanding tuition-free education and a host of other alleged inalienable rights. The “Million Student March” rally aimed at the CUNY system that took place at Hunter College on Thursday was endorsed on Facebook by NYC Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and five SJP chapters in CUNY schools – Hunter College, Brooklyn College, College of Staten Island, John Jay College, and CUNY School of Law – and differed from the national movement in that, in addition to calling for a tuition-free education and other things, the groups used anti-Semitic slurs to link the financial concerns of CUNY students to its “Zionist administration.” The Facebook event stated, The Zionist administration invests in Israeli companies, companies that support the Israeli occupation, hosts birthright programs and study abroad programs in occupied Palestine, and reproduces settler-colonial ideology throughout CUNY through Zionist content of education. While CUNY aims to produce the next generation of professional Zionists, SJP aims to change the university to fight for all peoples liberation. At the rally itself, students chanted things including, “Zionists out of CUNY! Zionists out of CUNY,” and “Intifada! Intifada! Long live the Intifada.” While we respect the right of all members of the university community to express their opinions in accordance with the First Amendment, hateful and bigoted speech should be strongly condemned by university administrations. When speakers engage in hateful speech, administrators can use such situations as teachable moments and issue a strong public statement, reiterating the values of the campus community and showing the administration’s support of targeted or affected students. The best such responses tend to share certain characteristics, such as responding with specificity, prominence, balance, and courage; putting the event into context; following up and firmly applying sanctions; and providing outreach to the targeted group. This is discussed in LDB’s “Best Practice Guide for Combating Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism” (see attached). Vice Chancellor Sanchez, we appreciate that you promptly issued a statement prior to the rally concerning freedom of speech and including that anti-Semitism is not in line with CUNY’s educational mission. However, we urge you to issue a more explicit statement now, following the rally, specifically including why bigoted and anti-Semitic incidents such as this cannot and will not be tolerated; why chanting things like “Zionists out of CUNY!” creates a hostile environment for Israeli students on campus in violation of federal civil rights law; and that calling for an “intifada,” a term long-associated with violence against Jews – especially troubling in the context of the recent knife attacks on Jewish civilians in Israel – could reasonably lead to incitement to violence, and raises concerns about the safety of Jewish and Israeli students on campus. President Raab, as this rally occurred on your campus, we urge you to issue a statement to the same effect, condemning this rally, and also explaining when anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism may cross the line into anti-Semitism, according to the U.S. State Department’s definition (see attached). We worry that the ensuing silence from your administration on this incident may be interpreted as tacit approval of hateful speech. We are available by phone or e-mail to discuss this further, and we thank you in advance for your prompt reply and consideration of this matter. Sincerely, Kenneth L. Marcus President & General Counsel The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law Aviva J. Vogelstein Staff Attorney The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law Andrew Klaben-Feingold Co-President LDB Chapter at CUNY Law School Erica Berger Co-President LDB Chapter at CUNY Law School CC: Frederick Schaffer General Counsel & Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs, CUNY