Lawler pushes to defund universities promoting antisemitism after CUNY speech
New York Rep. Mike Lawler argues the City University of New York should be stripped of federal funding after a graduate accused Israel of encouraging "lynch mobs" during her speech.
A Jewish group is calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove City of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez from his position following his response to a recent anti-Israel and anti-American commencement speech by one of the school's law graduates.
StopAntisemitism cited what it described as Rodriquez's "complete disregard for the safety of his Jewish students" after CUNY Law grad Fatima Mousa Mohammed delivered a speech that derided Israel and the U.S. as "fascist." The speech soon went viral and critics demanded that CUNY lose any federal funding it is currently receiving. The outcry led CUNY to release a statement that called Mohammed's address "hate speech," but critics argue Rodriguez has failed to adequately address the incident.
"For the past few years, we have been deeply concerned about intense Jew-hatred masquerading as anti-Zionism at the City University of New York under the leadership of Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez," StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez said in a letter sent to Hochul on Friday.
Rez cited Mohammed's speech as well as last year's CUNY Law commencement speech by Nerdeen Kiswani, whose group, Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine, has been described by the Anti-Defamation League as being "radical," "anti-Israel" and supporting violence. Rez's letter also pointed to Title VI complaints against CUNY brought by Jewish students, a lawsuit from six CUNY professors looking to cut ties with the faculty union over alleged antisemitism, and Rodriguez's own failure to attend City Council meetings that were meant to address concerns of antisemitism at CUNY.
"Chancellor Rodriguez has proven that he cannot be trusted to uphold his pledge to 'champion student equity' when it comes to Jewish students, and therefore must be removed," Rez wrote.
Fatima Mohammed speaks about destroying the oppressor state and blasting law enforcement as fascists during her commencement speech at CUNY Law School. (Getty | Screenshot/CUNY)
Rez's organization told Fox News Digital on Monday that they had yet to receive any response from Hochul or her office other than auto-replies.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was at the commencement and spoke before Mohammed, later derided her speech as "vile anti-American and anti-Israel speech promoting hate."
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Activist groups and a City Council member have also demanded that Mohammed be barred from practicing law regardless of whether she passes the bar exam, arguing that she fails the "character and fitness" requirements.
"I ask that should she pass the New York bar, her admission be denied," NYC council member Inna Vernikov said in a letter to the New York Bar on Wednesday.
A civil rights group called the Lawfare Project appealed to the New York Supreme Court, stating, "It's our belief that a person who has proved themselves to be a bigot is not fit to practice law," the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing calls to remove the chancellor of CUNY over his handling of an antisemitic and anti-American commencement speech. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Hochul's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News' Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
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