Eduardo R.C. Capulong
Interim Dean & Professor of Law
2 Court Square
Long Island City, NY 11101-4356
STATEMENT ON PALESTINIAN ACTIVISM
As an institution of higher learning, CUNY Law is committed to the open exchange of opinions and ideas, academic freedom, and robust community dialogue. As a law school, we uphold human rights and international law; the UN held its first meetings in what is now Lehman College, a sister campus, in fact, and where it drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a progressive legal community, our mission is to “transform the teaching, learning, and practice of law to include those it has excluded, marginalized, and oppressed.”
It is in this context that I affirm the Law School’s support for all our students who champion these principles. In particular, the Law School supports the free speech rights of Nerdeen Kiswani, other Palestinian students, and their Jewish and non-Jewish allies, who have been vilified for their activism. As a 2016 CUNY Board of Trustees report found, “criticism of Israel is protected speech” and “should not be tarred as anti-Semitic.” The 2016 report was the result of an investigation into the charge that pro-Palestinian student activism at multiple CUNY campuses was anti-Semitic.
CUNY Law is a diverse community with differing political beliefs. But we are united in opposing all forms of racism, including anti-Palestinianism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia; we condemn anti-Palestinian, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and other racist violence; we recognize and respect one another’s right to be a part of our community; and we have found no cause to discipline Ms. Kiswani, who remains in good standing with our institution.
June 30, 2021
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