The New York governor, Kathy Hochul ordered the City University of New York (Cuny) to immediately remove a job posting advertising a Palestinian studies professor role at the state university system’s Hunter College.
In the job listing, Hunter College wrote that the institution is seeking “a historically grounded scholar who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality”.
It added that Hunter College is open to a “diverse theoretical and methodical approaches” to teaching the class.
A spokesperson for Hochul told the New York Post: “Governor Hochul has directed Cuny to immediately remove this job posting and conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom/”
Félix V Matos Rodríguez, the Cuny chancellor, and William C Thompson Jr, chair of the board of trustees, shared a joint statement regarding the removal of the job listing: “We find this language divisive, polarizing and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s direction to remove this posting, which we have ensured Hunter College has since done.”
The job posting, which also said it was part of a Palestinian studies “cluster hire” for two positions, has since been taken down from Cuny’s website.
Cuny’s faculty and staff union condemned the move in a letter to Hochul and Rodríguez. “We strongly object to your removal of a job posting for a Palestinian Studies faculty position as a violation of academic freedom at Hunter College,” the Professional Staff Congress wrote. “We oppose antisemitism and all forms of hate, but this move is counterproductive. It is an overreach of authority to rule an entire area of academic study out of bounds.”
Palestine studies has grown as an academic discipline in response to the campus protests that rocked the US after 7 October attacks and Israel’s ensuing bombardment of Gaza.
But the Cuny listing sparked immediate and intense backlash from Jewish groups and pro-Israel activists. Several critics, including watchdog groups, argued that the language describing the position “promotes antisemitism”.
StopAntisemitism, a pro-Israel group, described the listing as part of a “antisemitic blood libel” at Cuny in a post on X.
Cuny was a focal point for the pro-Palestinian protests that roiled campuses last year during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, resulting in dozens of arrests and prompting pushback from both the university administration and the state. The Nation reported earlier this month that Cuny is investigating members of its student government for their participation in protests and for promoting boycotts of Israel.
In September of last year, Jonathan Lippman, a former state judge, submitted a report to governor Hochul “noting an alarming number of unacceptable antisemitic incidents targeting members of the CUNY community” and arguing for an overhaul in how the university deals with antisemitism allegations.
The controversies at Cuny are playing into broader debates about when anti-Zionism crosses over to antisemitism. “The Lippman report is a serious attack on the movement for Palestine,” one Cuny doctoral student wrote when it came out. “Throughout this year, Jewish people, including organizations like [Jewish Voice for Peace], have played a central role in pointing out that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism and speaking out against the genocide. Yet, this report repeats this false equivalence.”
