Open Letter to the CUNY Community
Update: a lightly edited version of this letter was published in the March 18th, 2019 issue of the Daily News.
As Jewish faculty at the City University of New York, we were distressed to see that The Daily News recently published an opinion piece in which a Kingsborough Community College administrator accuses and names politically progressive faculty at the college of orchestrating a “systematic and pernicious campaign” of anti-Semitic hate against him, calling upon the Lawfare Project whose mission involves lawsuits that allege anti-Semitism to silence faculty, students, staff, and university administrations. In his own words, the author of the opinion piece writes, “The reason for their attack? I’m Jewish, politically conservative and I believe in Zionism, the civil rights movement of the Jewish people.”
We are of course concerned about rising hate crimes, in New York and nationally, including those that are Islamophobic, anti-Black, anti-immigrant, anti-Latinx, homophobic, transphobic, anti-indigenous, and anti-Semitic. We are equally concerned about censorship and silencing of divergent perspectives on our campuses.
As we understand the situation at KBCC, our accused colleagues in Kingsborough’s Progressive Faculty Caucus (PFC), many of whom themselves are Jews, have been explicit about their denunciation of anti-Semitism in word, deed or policy. The PFC formed in the wake of the election of President Trump and is made up of faculty who describe themselves as sharing a commitment to “envisioning a more vibrant, democratic, intellectually engaged campus in which faculty and others participate more in active, honest, open dialogue about issues facing our college, our communities, and our city.”
Upon learning that a photograph of a Jewish president of the institution had been vandalized last spring, thirty-seven Kingsborough faculty members, many of whom were associated with the Caucus, issued a swift condemnation of such acts.
We stand for open expression, campuses that encourage dissent and opportunities for solidarities. We stand against attempts to silence members of our faculty who are exercising their right to organize, research, and write about the compelling issues of our times. We invite other faculty to sign this letter, and then we will send to our new Chancellor, the Board of Trustees, the President of Kingsborough Community College, and our PSC.
Sincerely,
Steve Brier, Professor, PhD Program in Urban Education
Co-Director, New Media Lab, the Graduate Center, CUNY
Michael Fabricant, Professor
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Critical Psychology, Urban Education, Gender/Women’s Studies and American Studies
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Harriet Goodman, Associate Professor
Executive Officer, PhD Program in Social Welfare
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Philip Kasinitz, Presidential Professor of Sociology
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Martha Bragin, Associate Professor
Chair, Global Social Work and Practice with Immigrants and Refugees
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
Deborah Tolman, Professor
Hunter College
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Susan Opotow, Professor
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Cindi Katz, Professor of Environmental Psychology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, American Studies, and Women’s Studies
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Gerald Markowitz, Distinguished Professor of History
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Irwin Epstein, Professor Emeritus
Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Michael Jacobson, Professor of Sociology
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Joshua Brown, Professor Emeritus, Ph.D. Program in History
The Graduate Center, CUNY
David Nasaw, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Distinguished Professor of History
The Graduate Center, CUNY
Laura Tanenbaum
Professor of English
LaGuardia Community College
Renate Bridenthal
retired Professor of History
Brooklyn College
Hester Eisenstein
Professor of Sociology
Queens College and the Graduate Center
CUNY
John Hammond
Sociology, Hunter College and Graduate Center
Gary Wilder
Professor, Anthropology
Director, Committee on Globalization and Social Change
CUNY Graduate Center
Carol Lang
Asst. Adj. Professor
History Department
Michael E Green
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
City College
Michael E Green
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
City College
Karen Miller
Professor of History
LaGuardia Community College
Stephanie Luce
Professor of Labor Studies
School of Labor and Urban Studies
John Krinsky, Professor
Department of Political Science
The City College of New York
Jesse W. Schwartz
Assistant Professor of English
LaGuardia Community College
Joan Greenbaum
Professor Emerita
Social and Environmental Justice Program
Graduate Center
Karen Strassler
Associate Professor
Anthropology
Queens College and CUNY Graduate Center
Email concernedcunyfaculty2019@gmail.com if you would like to become a signatory to this letter.
