Faculty at the CUNY School of Law are calling on the university’s administration to retract a statement characterizing a student’s graduation address as “hate speech,” following criticism of her speech as antisemitic.
Professors are rallying behind recent CUNY law graduate Fatima Mousa Mohammed, whose May 12 remarks in support of the Palestinian cause amid her criticism of “Israeli settler colonialism” has drawn fierce condemnation from Republicans and some Democrats.
But faculty say Mohammed’s remarks, despite their controversy, are protected under the First Amendment, warning that a statement condemning the speech, issued by Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and the CUNY Board of Trustees on Tuesday, will have a chilling effect.
“The implication that an elected-student speaker at an institution devoted to social justice and human rights was applauded by her peers, faculty, and attendees for engaging in ‘hate speech’ is an affront to both the student speaker and our entire community,” reads the letter, signed by more than three dozen law school faculty members.
They are demanding an apology to Mohammed, who has been targeted by “death threats and Islamophobic harassment,” according to the letter. Additional public safety officers from other colleges at CUNY have been directed to the law school, according to an email to faculty and staff obtained by Gothamist.
Mohammed’s remarks began on a note of triumph over COVID-19 and spanned several topics in the aftermath, from sharp criticism of Israel and the child welfare system to “the self-serving interests of CUNY Central, an institution that continues to fail us that continues to train and cooperate with the fascist NYPD.”
The graduation speech was made on May 12, shortly after Mayor Eric Adams spoke and was greeted by members of the graduating class turning their backs in protest. It wasn’t until May 30, after video of Mohamed’s speech surfaced and became fodder for tabloid…
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