CUNY schools heighten security ahead of potential anti-Israel protests
‘Public safety is my top priority, and as classes resume, it is essential that all students feel safe and are free from harm,’ Gov. Hochul previously said.
CUNY anti-Israel activists have been at the center of numerous controversies, including one in which they seemingly called for violence against New Yorkers and the police.
The City University of New York (CUNY) is strengthening security measures on its campuses ahead of a potentially turbulent semester that could see more anti-Israel protests.
CUNY has added more security officers to campuses within its system, and school officials will be more intentional in asking students their opinions regarding discrimination on campus.
New York Gov. Kathy Hocul said: “Public safety is my top priority, and as classes resume, it is essential that all students feel safe and are free from harm. Last spring, I directed college campuses to review and update their emergency-response plans, and as tensions may be high as we start the academic year.”
[RELATED: U of Michigan protesters spotted wearing terrorist group headbands]
On Sept. 3, several Jewish students from CUNY were harassed by activists who yelled anti-Semitic slogans at them at a deli in New York City.
The activists called out “Back to Brooklyn, out the Middle East,” and “From the river to the sea,” a slogan that many have condemned as an anti-Semitic rallying cry to exterminate or ethnically cleanse Jews in Israel.
CUNY’s decision to boost security on its campuses follows warnings from the school’s security officers who said there was “no preparation” for dealing with protests this fall semester.
“It’s going to be bad. Our numbers just aren’t there,” one officer said. “If there’s a spontaneous protest that we don’t have any knowledge of, we’re going to be outnumbered – just by the sheer number of students enrolled, we’re outnumbered.”
“They pay [sic] is so low for these guys and they’re paying millions for contractors to be here with no training, no background,” he continued. “They’re not concerned about the students and the staff. They’re worried about their image and making sure the students express their freedom of speech.”
CUNY activists have undertaken several controversial actions in their protests against the Jewish state in recent months.
In early September, several CUNY activists went to Baruch College to protest against the school’s Jewish student group, Hillel. The protesters chanted messages like “All Zionists are terrorists.”
On July 25, an anti-Israel CUNY group published a statement that warned it would “brutalize” and “escalate” in response to supposed oppression from the NYPD.
“Whether we are fighting in Atlanta, New York City, Sudan, or Palestine, the enemy remains the same. The zionist entity escalates, so does the Palestinian Resistance. The pigs and institutions escalate, so do the agitators of the world!” the group continued.
Campus Reform has contacted the City University of New York for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
