August 2016
“Dialogue not Boycotts” Petition
We affirm our support for the free exchange of ideas and the right to associate freely with individuals and academic institutions of our choice. We therefore stand against efforts by student governance bodies and professional academic associations to dictate how we should act.
We are dismayed that the bedrock principle of academic freedom was forsaken by the Doctoral Students’ Council (DSC) of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York on 15 April 2016 and by CUNY faculty supporters in a letter of 7 May 2016 in an effort to isolate Israel. The DSC’s resolution reaches across the globe to the Middle East, a region roiled by intense hatreds of Sunni, Shia, and Alawite Moslems, Christians, Kurds, Jews, Druze, and Yazidis and inflamed by radical political visions, religious enmity, and terror, to denounce a single state—Israel—the only state in the region with full legal protection for minorities and women and active programs to increase participation of underrepresented minorities in all aspects of life. Israel struggles to achieve de facto as well as de jure equality for all segments of its population. We look forward to the day when a democratic Palestinian state will contend with the same challenges.
The DSC has justified its resolution on the basis of Israeli “colonialism and structural racism.” No other entity in the Middle East is charged with racism, even though Israel and its citizens face unremitting racial and religious hatred. The charge in the DSC resolution of Israeli colonialism, without mention of the need for a secure homeland for Jews is a chilling disregard of the natural concern of Israel’s citizens for their own survival. Clearly, finding a way towards peace will not be easy—it will take openness, imagination and flexibility. The signers below don’t necessarily agree on the steps that should be taken by the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority in seeking peace, but are united in their support for academic freedom and opposition to one-sided resolutions and boycotts.
Like BDS efforts on many campuses, the leadership of the DSC took unprecedented steps to limit the expression of opposing views both before and during the DSC meeting. The Israeli academic boycott resolution was put on the DSC agenda just two weeks before the vote and the time allotted for discussion at the meeting was so limited that there could be no real exchange of ideas. The CUNY faculty letter expresses the wish “to make it absolutely clear that we will be vigilant against, and will not tolerate, any attempts to intimidate, threaten, harass, or enact reprisals of any sort against any of the students who have been involved with the DSC…” But there have been no threats against members of the DSC. What some faculty find so intimidating is really the threat of open discussion.
We are gratified that the chancellor of CUNY and the president of the Graduate Center have reaffirmed university policy against academic boycotts. Academic boycotts hinder the critical examination of real conflicts involving real people. They prolong conflict by nurturing entrenched prejudices and false hopes that one side’s objectives can be achieved without the hard work of building mutual respect and trust and recognizing the humanity on all sides in a conflict. We therefore oppose the academic boycott of Israel and stand against efforts to abrogate our freedoms and stifle dialogue.
| First Name | Last Name | Title / Discipline Campus |
|---|---|---|
| André | Aciman | Distinguished Professor/Comparative Literature The Graduate Center |
| Gregory | Aizin | Professor / Physics Kingsborough Community College and The Graduate Center |
| Vladimir | Akulov | Adj. Assoc. Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology |
| Spiro | Alexandratos | Professor / Chemistry Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Robert | Alfano | Distinguished Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Linda | Allen | Professor / Economics Baruch College and The Graduate Center |
| Philip | Allen | Adj. Lecturer / Graphic Design NYC College of Technology |
| Moshe | Augenstein | Professor / Computer Science Brooklyn College |
| Moshe | Banai | Professor Emeritus / Management Baruch College |
| Probal | Banerjee | Distinguished Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Lawrence | Bank | Professor / Civil Engineering Grove School of Engineering |
| Philip | Barnett | Professor / Chemistry City College and The Graduate Center |
| Gordon | Bassen | Professor / Computer Science Kingsborough Community College |
| Timothy | Benseman | Asst. Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Oleg | Berman | Assoc. Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology |
| Joseph | Birman | Distinguished Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Victor | Boiko | Adj. Assist. Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology |
| Felicia | Bonaparte | Professor Emerita / English and Comparative Literature City College and The Graduate Center |
| Martin | Braun | Professor / Mathematics Queens College |
| John | Brenkman | Distinguished Professor / English and Comparative Literature Baruch College and the Graduate Center |
| Theodore | Brown | Professor / Computer Science Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Harvey | Carroll | Professor Emeritus / Chemistry Kingsborough Community College |
| Sultan | Catto | Professor / Physics Baruch College and The Graduate Center |
| Barry | Cherkas | Professor / Mathematics Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Eugene | Chudnovsky | Distinguished Professor / Physics Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Eva | Cogan | Asst. Professor / Computer and Information Science Brooklyn College |
| Florette | Cohen | Asst. Professor / Psychology College of Staten Island |
| Leon | Cohen | Professor / Physics Hunter College and the Graduate Center |
| Yochi | Cohen-Charash | Professor / Psychology Baruch College and The Graduate Center |
| Morton | Denn | Albert Einstein Professor Emeritus / Chemical Engineering City College and The Graduate Center |
| Lev | Deych | Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Morris | Dickstein | Distinguished Professor Emeritus / English The Graduate Center |
| Jozef | Dodziuk | Professor / Mathematics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Charles Michael | Drain | Professor / Chemistry Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Brian | Dressner | Doctoral Student / Physics City College, Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Martin | Elsky | Professor / English and Comparative Literature Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center |
| Robert | Engel | Professor / Chemistry & Biochemistry Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Cynthia | Epstein | Distinguished Professor Emeritus / Sociology The Graduate Center |
| Hanan | Eytan | Assoc. Professor / Economics Baruch College |
| Robert | Feinerman | Professor / Mathematics Lehman College |
| Edgar | Feldman | Professor Emeritus / Mathematics The Graduate Center |
| Mark | Feuer | Assoc. Professor / Physics and Engineering College of Staten Island |
| Arnold | Franklin | Professor / History Queens College |
| Lea | Fridman | Professor / English Kingsborough Community College |
| Hershey | Friedman | Professor / Business Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Linda Weiser | Friedman | Professor / Statistics and Computer Information Systems Baruch College and The Graduate Center |
| Dmitry | Garanin | Professor / Physics Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Kevin | Gardner | Einstein Professor / Chemistry and Structural Biology Advanced Science Research Center and The Graduate Center |
| Azriel | Genack | Distinguished Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Jane | Gerber | Professor Emerita / History The Graduate Center |
| Joel | Gersten | Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| David | Gerwin | Professor / Secondary Education Queens College |
| Wallace | Goldberg | Professor / Mathematics Queens College |
| Sue | Goldhaber | Lecturer / English Queens College |
| Anshel | Gorokhovsky | Professor / Physics College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Steven | Greenbaum | Professor / Physics Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Alexander | Greer | Professor / Chemistry Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Barry | Gross | Professor / Electrical Engineering Grove School of Engineering |
| Shulamith | Gross | Professor / Statistics Baruch College |
| Godfrey | Gumbs | Distinguished Professor / Physics Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Joshua | Halberstam | Profesor / Communication/Philosophy New York |
| Robert M. | Haralick | Distinguished Professor / Computer Science The Graduate Center |
| Miriam | Hausman | Professor / Mathematics Baruch College |
| Samuel | Heilman | Distinguished Professor / Sociology Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Jonathan | Helfand | Professor Emeritus / History Brooklyn College |
| William | Hersh | Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Benjamin | Hett | Assoc. Professor / History Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Frances Degen | Horowitz | President Emerita / Psychology The Graduate Center |
| Qiao-Sheng | Hu | Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| David | Jeruzalmi | Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry City College and The Graduate Center |
| Yunping | Jiang | Distinguished Professor / Mathematics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Latif | Jiji | Professor Emeritus / Mechanical Engineering Grove School of Engineering |
| Shi | Jin | Assoc. Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| KC | Johnson | Professor / History Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Gerhard | Joseph | Professor / English Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Debbie | Kaminer | Professor / Law Baruch College |
| Adam | Kapelner | Asst. Professor / Mathematics Queens College |
| Ilya | Kapovich | Professor / Mathematics and Statistics Hunter College |
| Frimette | Kass-Shraibman | Professor / Accounting Brooklyn College |
| Roman | Kezerashvili | Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology and The Graduate Center |
| Alex | Khanikaev | Assoc. Professor / Electrical Engineering and Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Frida | Kleiman | Professor / Chemistry Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Yehuda | Klein | Professor / Economics Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Lawrence | Kobilinsky | Professor / Biology John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The Graduate Center |
| German | Kolmakov | Assoc. Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology |
| Jessica Diller | Kovler | Professor / History John Jay College of Criminal Justice |
| Michal | Kruk | Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Anatoly | Kuklov | Professor / Physics College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Thomas | Kurtzman | Professor / Chemistry Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Igor | Kuskovsky | Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Jessica | Lang | Professor / English Baruch College |
| Yedidyah | Langsam | Professor / Computer Science Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Jeffrey | Lax | Professor / Business Kingsborough Community College |
| Alfred | Levine | Professor / Physics College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Rivka | Levitan | Asst. Professor / Computer and Information Science Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Sharona | Levy | Professor / Speech Communication Brooklyn College |
| Joseph | Lewittes | Professor / Mathematics Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Peter | Lipke | Professor / Biology Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Alexander | Lisyansky | Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Jianbo | Liu | Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Michael | Lubell | Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Alan | Lyons | Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Michael | Maller | Professor / Mathematics Queens College |
| Steven | Markowitz | Professor / Environmental Medicine Barry Commoner Center for Health and the Environment, Queens College |
| Gregory | Matloff | Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology |
| Vinod | Menon | Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Rebecca | Merkin | Professor / Communication Studies Baruch College |
| Corinne | Michels | Distinguished Professor Emerita / Biochemistry Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Michael | Mirkin | Professor / Chemistry Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Mark | Mirsky | Professor / Enlish City College |
| Tatiana | Morozov | Adj. Professor / Physics New York City College of Technology |
| Abbe | Mowshowitz | Professor / Computer Science City College and The Graduate Center |
| Lev | Murokh | Assoc. Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Fred | Naider | Distinguished Professor / Biochemistry and Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Melvyn | Nathanson | Professor / Mathematics Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Kevin | O’Bryant | Professor / Mathematics College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Peter | Orland | Professor / Physics Baruch College and The Graduate Center |
| Robert E | Paaswell | Distinguished Professor / Civil Engineering City College |
| Victor | Pan | Distinguished Professor / Mathematics and Computer Science Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Manfred | Philipp | Professor / Biochemistry Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Sebastien | Poget | Assoc. Professor / Biochemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Luis | Quadri | Professor / Biology Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Krishnaswami | Raja | Assoc. Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Sara | Reguer | Professor / Judaic Studies Brooklyn College |
| Steven | Remy | Assoc. Professor / History Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center |
| Jay | Rosen | Prof / Math CSI and Graduate Center |
| Ronald | Rothenberg | Assoc. Professor / Mathematics Queens College |
| Hannah | Rothstein | Professor / Management Baruch College |
| David | Rumschitzki | Professor / Chemical Engineering and Chemistry City College and The Graduate Center |
| Uri | Samuni | Asst. Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Bianca | Santoro | Asst. Professor / Mathematics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Myriam | Sarachik | Distinguished Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| Mitchell | Schaffler | Distinguished Professor / Biomedical Engineering City College and The Graduate Center |
| David | Schmeltzer | Professor / Physics City College and The Graduate Center |
| William | Schreiber | Professor / Physics College of Staten Island |
| Seymour | Schulman | Professor Emeritus / Biology Baruch College |
| Brian | Schwartz | Professor / Physics Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center |
| S. Prakash | Sethi | University Distinguished Professor / Management Baruch College |
| Chwen-Yang | Shew | Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Lev | Shneerson | Professor / Mathematics Hunter College and The Graduate Center |
| Fern | Sisser | Assoc. Professor / Mathematics Queens College |
| Charles | Smith | Professor Emeritus / Sociology Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Paul | Smith | Distinguished Professor / Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature The Graduate Center |
| Dina | Sokol | Professor / Computer Science Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Christina | Sormani | Professor / Mathematics Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Ruth | Stark | Distinguished Professor / Chemistry City College and The Graduate Center |
| Carol | Steiner | Professor / Chemical Engineering Grove School of Engineering |
| Rachel | Sturm | Assoc. Professor / Mathematics Kingsborough Community College |
| John M. | Tarbell | Distinguished Professor / Biomedical Engineering City College and The Graduate Center |
| Gabriel | Tardos | Professor / Chemical Engineering City College |
| Samuel Torjman | Thomas | Adj. Asst. Professor / Music John Jay and Hunter Colleges |
| Micha | Tomkiewicz | Professor / Physics and Chemistry Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center |
| Bryan | Turner | Presidential Professor / Sociology The Graduate Center |
| John | Verzani | Professor / Mathematics College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Luat | Vuong | Asst. Professor / Physics Queens College and The Graduate Center |
| Paul | Wachtel | Distinguished Professor / Psychology City College and The Graduate Center |
| Richard | Wolin | Distinguished Professor / Comparative Literature The Graduate Center |
| Eleanore | Wurtzel | Professor / Biological Sciences and Biochemistry Lehman College and The Graduate Center |
| Nan-Loh | Yang | Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Rina | Yarmish | Professor / Mathematics Kingsborough Community College |
| Sarah | Zelikovitz | Assoc. Professor / Computer Science College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Shuiqin | Zhou | Professor / Chemistry College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center |
| Chaim | Ziegler | Professor / Computer and Information Science Brooklyn College |