CAFI Letter regarding the Statement from the CUNY Chancellor

December 21, 2021

Dear Chancellor Matos Rodríguez,

We appreciate your statement rejecting BDS and your focus on “elevating dialogue and building bridges between people and groups of different backgrounds whose beliefs and divergent experiences and histories sometimes place them at odds.” We believe, however, that stronger action is necessary at this time.

The statement from the CUNY Law Student Government Association (LSGA), coming on the heels of the June Professional Staff Congress resolution, is part of a deteriorating situation at CUNY where students, faculty, and staff who support Israel’s right to exist are intimidated and explicitly ostracized. Rather than issuing a declaration of what CUNY is not permitted to do, this is the time to state what is the right thing for CUNY to do. This is the time for leadership from your office.

We at the CUNY Alliance for Inclusion are working towards the vision you articulated for the City University and would like to work with you to realize this vision. Our efforts can be seen in the seminars, statements and information that can be found on our website at cunyallianceforinclusion.org. However, we believe that your office needs to take decisive actions to demonstrate its commitment to diversity of opinions and the inclusion of people who support Israel’s right to exist within the fabric of the CUNY community. If not explicitly opposed, the hostile atmosphere at CUNY created by these resolutions will alienate students, faculty, and alumni who support Israel’s right to exist. Surely your office should not allow the authors of these statements to set the climate at CUNY.

 
We sent a request to meet with you after the resolution of the LSGA. We are following up now to request a meeting with you before the spring term to discuss support for Jewish students and faculty to ensure that enmity towards Israel does not become the norm at CUNY.

 
We look forward to your timely response,

CUNY Alliance for Inclusion

Ilya Bratman, Baruch and John Jay Colleges
Evan Daniel, Queens College
Morton Denn, City College (Emeritus)
Lev Deych, Queens College
Jonathan Epstein, John Jay College
Azi Genack, Queens College
David Goldberg, Queens College
Steve Greenbaum, Hunter College
Theodore Kessler, Queens College
Yehuda Klein, Brooklyn College
Igor Kuskovsky, Queens College
Yedidyah Langsam, Brooklyn College
Alexander Lisyansky, Queens College
Itzik Mano, CUNY Sch of Med
Stanley Ocken, City College (Emeritus)
Manfred Philipp, Lehman College (Emeritus)
Emily Rubenstein, Brooklyn College (Retired)
David Rumschitzki, City College
Vivian Shulman, College of Staten Island
Ruth Silverberg, College of Staten Island
Yael Wyner, City College