New York’s governor ordered a state school to remove a job posting for a Palestinian studies teaching position this week, saying she wanted to ensure “antisemitic theories” would not be taught.
The job posting at Hunter College had called for a historian “who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to settler-colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality,” according to screenshots published by the New York Post, which first reported the job announcement.
Following the coverage, Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, ordered the City University of New York school to remove the posting “and conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom,” her office said in a statement.
The CUNY Board of Trustees agreed, and university officials have since removed the posting for a “Palestinian Studies Cluster Hire,” which was marked as expired on Friday.
“We find this language divisive, polarising and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s direction to remove this posting,” Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. and Chancellor Félix V.
Matos Rodríguez, adding they would work “to tackle antisemitism on our campuses and combat hate in all of its forms.”
The governor’s statement added that no class is being cancelled.
The CUNY school said it will still hire a relevant expert. “Hunter College took down the job listings following the concerns raised about the language used in the online posting. We will be reviewing the posting process and look forward to adding scholars with expertise in this subject matter to our distinguished faculty,” the college said in a statement, adding that expertise would include ”Palestinian history, culture, and society.”
The Israel-Hamas war that erupted on Oct.7, 2023, has tested free speech at US colleges. Pro-Palestinian students and their allies launched protests at campuses across the country, demanding schools divest from Israel in demonstrations that resulted in thousands of arrests.
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