CUNY anti-Israel activists refused to cooperate with antisemitism probe, says judge who oversaw sweeping review

Activists at CUNY who despise Israel refused to cooperate with the state’s independent probe into rampant campus antisemitism.

“There are people who thought the deck was stacked [against them]. They hurt their own cause,” said  Jonathan Lippman, the widely respected, retired chief judge of the state Court of Appeals who oversaw the sweeping review of the City University of New York’s handling of hate against Jewish people.

The anti-Israel activists who declined to be interviewed expressed concern about any restrictions on their free-speech rights and about being accused of antisemitism.

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That was not the intent, said Lippman, a longtime judge who values fairness and impartiality.

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“During the course of the review, we became aware that certain students, faculty, and organizations were advising people not to speak with us.I understand that some of those individuals were concerned that my team was trying to `target’ individuals who may have engaged in antisemitism or spoken out against Israel,” he said in the report.

“While I recognize the atmosphere of distrust that surrounds these issues, any such charges of targeting are flatly wrong and wholly misguided.”

He insisted he and his team of associates from Latham & Watkins LLP sought to interview people with different views on issues related to antisemitism and discrimination, which would include the volatile Palestinian-Israel conflict.

“We wanted to hear from not only those who believed they were victims of antisemitism but also from those who believed they were victims of false claims of antisemitism as well as other forms of discrimination,” Lippman said.

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He said the interviewers sought to speak with students or staffers at CUNY communities who may have been victims of other hate or had their speech rights impinged.

“My review was in no way aimed at uncovering perpetrators of improper behavior at CUNY or assigning blame,” Lippman said.

Meanwhile, Jewish civil-rights activists applauded Lippman for recommending that CUNY use the  International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism in evaluating discrimination claims.

“Judge Lippman’s recommendation that CUNY accept that IHRA is the law of the land and act accordingly is a milestone for Jewish students, faculty, and staff whose pleas for help have fallen, if not on deaf ears, then on misunderstanding ones which couldn’t hear how anti-Semitic conduct often masquerades as ‘merely’ anti-Israel political advocacy,” said Kenneth  Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

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