Campaign Summary: City University of New York (CUNY)

Proposed Resolution for the Endorsement of Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions: The resolution that was put forth and ultimately supported by CUNY’s Doctoral Students Council (DSC) of the Graduate Center. It criticizes Israel’s actions during 2 “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014, as well as the desire to “support Palestinian students and academics in their struggle against the Zionist policies of the Israeli state.” This PDF also includes FAQs regarding the resolution; it should be noted that the questions and answers were put together by the Graduate Center student campaign in support of the resolution.

2014

UFS Executive Committee Continues to Oppose Academic BoycottsThe Executive Committee of the University Faculty Senate (CUNY) continues to understand that their colleagues will hold different opinions on Middle East issues, but reaffirms that universities are crucial to free flowing ideas and finding solutions to problems, and that academic boycotts hurt academia.

Dialogue, not boycottsThis document asks the Doctoral Students’ Council, of CUNY, to reject the resolution that endorses a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. the PDF explains that if the resolution passed, it would violate long established academic freedoms. The signatories of this statement believe that the BDS movement poses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a black and white issue, when it is more nuanced than that. There is a call for “measures that will lead to trust and not to recriminations” in reference to how the conflict can eventually be solved.

Progressive Academics Work at CUNY to Defeat Israel Boycott, Encourage Engagement for PeaceThis article explains how the Academic Advisory Council of The Third Narrative has actively to advocate for the dismissal of the resolution that would support the academic boycott of Israel.

2015

Response to the most recent UFS Statement on Academic Boycotts: This document aims to respond to the most recent statement from the University Faculty Senate. It reiterates several points that were made, which include that boycotting academic freedom is harmful, and that an academic boycott of Israel hits the Israelis and those at CUNY who would work with them. This PDF explains that the “proposed academic boycott erects barriers to international cooperation”.

Related Media:

CUNY grad students poised to vote on BDS, reported by JTA via The Times of Israel (2016).

CUNY Graduate Students Vote for Academic Boycott of Israel, by Sam Kestenbaum of The Forward (2016).