CUNY Denounces Anti-Israel Commencement Speech As “Hate Speech”

The City University of New York (CUNY) issued a statement on May 30 denouncing an anti-Israel speaker’s CUNY School of Law commencement speech on May 12 as being “hate speech.”

The speech, delivered by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) activist Fatima Mohammed, featured her applauding CUNY Law’s faculty and students for endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement “as Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshippers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards, as it encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinian homes and businesses, as it imprisons its children, as it continues its project of settler colonialism, expelling Palestinians from their homes, carrying [out] the ongoing Nakba, that our silence is no longer acceptable.” Mohammed also criticized “CUNY central” for their partnership with “with the fascism [New York Police Department], the military, that continues to train [Israeli Defense Force] soldiers to carry out that same violence globally.” Mohammed also alleged “that daily, brown and black men are being murdered by the state at Rikers” and “that there are Palestinian political prisoners like HLF in U.S. prisons.” HLF is an apparent reference to the Holyland Five, the five leaders of the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development who were convicted in 2009 of providing material support to Hamas.

“May we rejoice in the corners of our New York City bedroom apartments and dining tables, may it be fuel for the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism, and Zionism around the world,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed’s speech was closed to the press, and CUNY Law eventually released the entirety of the speech to the public on May 25 after pressure from both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, according to The Times of Israel. The speech resulted in backlash from several public figures, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), who tweeted the speech consisted of “words of negativity and divisiveness.” Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) tweeted Mohammed’s speech was “anti-Israel derangement syndrome at work.” Former New York Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin called for CUNY’s taxpayer funding to be revoked “until the administration is overhauled and all Jewish students and faculty are welcome again.”

I was proud to offer a different message at this year’s CUNY law commencement ceremony — one that celebrates the progress of our city and country, and one that honors those who fight to keep us safe and protect our freedoms, like my uncle Joe, who died at age 19 in Vietnam while… https://t.co/vGRKntgH0G

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) May 29, 2023

Imagine being so crazed by hatred for Israel as a Jewish State that you make it the subject of your commencement speech at a law school graduation.

Anti-Israel derangement syndrome at work. pic.twitter.com/15iACGJUVn

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) May 29, 2023

Raging antisemitism has fully consumed the City University of New York. Until the administration is overhauled and all Jewish students and faculty are welcome again, taxpayer funding must be immediately halted.
pic.twitter.com/JOf8vHNsbf

— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) May 28, 2023

CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez and the Board of Trustees said in their statement, “Free speech is precious, but often messy, and is vital to the foundation of higher education. Hate speech, however, should not be confused with free speech and has no place on our campuses or in our city, our state or our nation. The remarks by a student-selected speaker at the CUNY Law School graduation, unfortunately, fall into the category of hate speech as they were a public expression of hate toward people and communities based on their religion, race or political affiliation. The Board of Trustees of the City University of New York condemns such hate speech.” They added that Mohammed’s speech was “particularly unacceptable at a ceremony celebrating the achievements of a wide diversity of graduates, and hurtful to the entire CUNY community, which was founded on the principle of equal access and opportunity.”

Please read the full statement from the CUNY Board of Trustees and @ChancellorCUNY. https://t.co/TBpNCdlFRa pic.twitter.com/pshnGzUE6b

— The City University of New York (@CUNY) May 30, 2023

Reactions to CUNY’s statement on Mohammed were mixed. Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) lauded CUNY’s statement for “calling out the speaker’s remarks as hate speech.” “However, I am appalled that, earlier this month, the CUNY Law School faculty council approved an anti-Israel resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS is as an antisemitic effort to punish the Jewish state,” Gottheimer said in a May 31 statement. “We need to address the use of antisemitic tropes, including those masquerading as anti-Israel sentiment. I remain committed to taking all measures necessary to protect students against hate, discrimination, and bigotry — especially Jewish students who face a barrage of antisemitism on their university campuses.”

Some Jewish groups also praised the statement. “We thank @CUNY for condemning the hateful remarks at the recent CUNY Law School graduation and for making the critical distinction between free speech and hate speech — and we urge CUNY to establish guidelines ensuring future speakers don’t espouse hate,” United Jewish Appeal (UJA)-Federation of New York tweeted.

We thank @CUNY for condemning the hateful remarks at the recent CUNY Law School graduation and for making the critical distinction between free speech and hate speech — and we urge CUNY to establish guidelines ensuring future speakers don't espouse hate. https://t.co/mZGJCXsjpB

— UJA-Federation of New York (@UJAfedNY) May 30, 2023

“The Chancellor and Trustees of @CUNY are correct,” Democratic Majority for Israel tweeted. “While free speech must be protected, this address was hate speech and should be condemned, as they do. Thank you for this forthright statement.”

The Chancellor and Trustees of @CUNY are correct. While free speech must be protected, this address was hate speech and should be condemned, as they do.

Thank you for this forthright statement. https://t.co/H3SgCV9qsh

— Democratic Majority for Israel (@DemMaj4Israel) May 30, 2023

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of New York tweeted that while CUNY was correct to refer to Mohammed’s speech as “hate speech,” the group is “disappointed [CUNY] didn’t call it out for what it was: Antisemitism. Once again, we urge @CUNY to revise its commencement speech guidelines before next year’s graduation.”

CUNY’s trustees & Chancellor are right; the @CUNYLaw commencement speech was indeed a hate speech. We’re disappointed they didn’t call it out for what it was: Antisemitism. Once again, we urge @CUNY to revise its commencement speech guidelines before next year’s graduation. https://t.co/rcuuOON9gd

— JCRC of New York (@JCRCNY) May 30, 2023

Others questioned the timing of the statement and if there would be any accountability.

“Rather than offering the unconvincing hate/free speech distinction, this statement simply should have condemned the sentiments as unacceptable for a CUNY graduation ceremony,” Brooklyn College, which is under the CUNY umbrella, and CUNY Graduate Center Professor KC Johnson tweeted. “The timing of the statement also suggests that the public *release* of the CUNY Law video rather than the contents of the student’s speech was the key motivating factor here.”

Rather than offering the unconvincing hate/free speech distinction, this statement simply should have condemned the sentiments as unacceptable for a CUNY graduation ceremony. https://t.co/rtkDUm50mn

— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) May 30, 2023

The timing of the statement also suggests that the public *release* of the CUNY Law video rather than the contents of the student's speech was the key motivating factor here.

— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) May 30, 2023

“It’s been almost three weeks since a hate speech was given at the @CUNYLaw graduation ceremony,” Kiryas Joel School District Superintendent Joel M. Petlin tweeted. “This @CUNY statement is not a response to the reprehensible speech. It’s a reaction to the publicity that was generated by @nycmayor, @RitchieTorres, @tedcruz & a @nypost front page.”

It's been almost three weeks since a hate speech was given at the @CUNYLaw graduation ceremony.

This @CUNY statement is not a response to the reprehensible speech. It's a reaction to the publicity that was generated by @nycmayor, @RitchieTorres, @tedcruz & a @nypost front page. https://t.co/SPrs7NuiVw

— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) May 30, 2023

New York City Council Member Ari Kagan tweeted, “So, @CUNY finally admitted that it was a state sponsored hate speech. What about accountability? Did CUNY staff review these prepared remarks? Why not? What are the consequences for a hateful speaker & for CUNY staff that allowed hate speech at graduation? We still need answers!”

So, @CUNY finally admitted that it was a state sponsored hate speech. What about accountability? Did CUNY staff review these prepared remarks? Why not? What are the consequences for a hateful speaker & for CUNY staff that allowed hate speech at graduation?
We still need answers! https://t.co/JTxIeZmoBG

— Council Member Ari Kagan (@CMAriKagan47) May 30, 2023

Yad Yamin’s New York affiliate tweeted to CUNY, “There are reports that you had a copy of the speech prior to its reading. Why did you remove the video of the speech? What about all the college administrators on the stage that clapped & cheered at the end of the speech?! Will they be sent [for] ‘diversity training’?” CUNY Professor Jeffrey Lax said on Newsmax earlier in the day that he had heard from a source that CUNY Law did receive a draft of Mohammed’s speech beforehand and that the school is claiming it was later changed. The CUNY Law Student Government, which is defending Mohammed, tweeted that the “speech that was submitted and approved at all levels of CUNY administration.”

As for the deans and administrators clapping, The New York Post reported that CUNY Law Dean Sudha Setty was among those clapping to Mohammed’s speech, and that she “was behind the establishment of the ‘Antiracism and Cultural Competency’ graduating requirement for the university’s students.”

CUNY and CUNY Law did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment asking for a response to Yad Yamin’s tweet.

There are reports that you had a copy of the speech prior to its reading.
Why did you remove the video of the speech ?
What about all the college administrators on the stage that clapped & cheered at the end of the speech?!
Will they be sent 4 “diversity training”?

— Yad Yamin NY (@yadyaminny) May 30, 2023

Very busy day for our beloved @CUNY_Prof today. Here was a scathing piece he just did on @Newsmax. Thank you @CSalcedoShow and @Newsmax! pic.twitter.com/txIZtXP09O

— SAFE CUNY (@SAFECUNY) May 30, 2023

The CUNY Law Student Government defended Mohammed by tweeting: “What a cowardly and shocking statement given that just last summer in a recorded city council hearing [CUNY]’s legal team said if a student spoke in support of the KU KLUX KLAN they would allow it because of the first amendment. THE KU KLUX KLAN!!” They added that CUNY’s statement was a “bad attempt to backtrack on a [CUNY] admin approved speech, from a student elected speaker (hence the resounding applause while she said it) directly speaking to the accomplishments of the class of 2023 in passing a BDS resolution, that CUNY faculty joined in passing.” “Shame on [CUNY] central to surrender to right wing extremists while the brave young woman who said that speech, a speech that says nothing the United Nations hasn’t said already, faces death threats,” they wrote.

This was a speech that was submitted and approved at all levels of CUNY administration, including by Dean Sudha Setty at CUNY Law, President Frank Wu at Queens College, and by CUNY Central, according to Dean Setty. When then did her speech become "hate speech"?

— cunylawsg (@cunylawsg) May 30, 2023

shame on cuny central to surrender to right wing extremists while the brave young woman who said that speech, a speech that says nothing the United Nations hasn't said already, faces death threats.

— cunylawsg (@cunylawsg) May 30, 2023

A couple of Jewish groups defended Mohammed in response to the CUNY statement.

“Further evidence that CUNY administration will gladly imperil students and alumni in order to pander to the most cynical reactionaries (ie. @NYCMayor),” CUNY Law’s Jewish Law Student Association tweeted. “We proudly support Fatima!”

Further evidence that CUNY administration will gladly imperil students and alumni in order to pander to the most cynical reactionaries (ie. @NYCMayor 👀) We proudly support Fatima! https://t.co/jEnIlszhB8

— CUNY JLSA (@cunyjlsa) May 30, 2023

Jews for Racial & Economic Justice similarly tweeted, “A university should be supporting their student who’s being targeted in right wing media, the mayor, and multiple members of congress. CUNY should be standing up for Fatima, despite disagreement or discomfort. Instead they’re throwing her to the wolves. Utterly shameful.”

A university should be supporting their student who’s being targeted in right wing media, the mayor, and multiple members of congress. CUNY should be standing up for Fatima, despite disagreement or discomfort. Instead they’re throwing her to the wolves. Utterly shameful. https://t.co/udS4i0gANR

— Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (@JFREJNYC) May 30, 2023

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) issued a letter to CUNY expressing concern over the university’s statement saying that hate speech “should not be construed with free speech,” arguing that CUNY still has a “constitutional obligation to not punish students for what it considers to be hateful expression.”

BREAKING: FIRE wrote @CUNY today explaining that speech does not lose its First Amendment protection solely because some view it as hateful or offensive.

Oh, and that, as a public institution, CUNY must adhere to the First Amendment. https://t.co/R1MnjTVDws pic.twitter.com/Nbc8ecpDwA

— FIRE (@TheFIREorg) May 31, 2023