City University of New York and its law school came under scrutiny for a commencement ceremony that featured a keynote speech seen as discriminatory against Jews. The school system, better known as CUNY, released a statement condemning the remarks as “hate speech” following a widespread outcry and calls for the college to speak out.
The featured speaker at the event, activist Fatima Mohammed, had accused Israel of “indiscriminate” murder, encouraging “lynch mobs” and lauded resistance to “Zionism around the world.” You can see the entire video here:
While completely accused of spreading hate on the first week after the speech, this week though - people have spoken up supporting her right to use her platform to share her story. In fact, Fatima received support from the Jewish Voice for Peace.
And CUNY law faculties have now asked the Board of Trustees to rescind statement and apologize to the student.
College is a place for open debate that is hardly available in the rest of the world out there. What do you think - was she right to share her story and thoughts? Or is this anti-semitism from an unexpected student?
