Hunter College alumni threaten to withhold donations unless school severs ties with Israel
More than 250 Hunter College alumni wrote a letter to the college urging support of the anti-Israel BDS movement.
The alumni threatened to withhold donations and participation in college-sanctioned events until their demands are met.
In December, more than 250 alumni of Hunter College wrote a joint letter to the college, demanding, among other measures, that the school divest from companies with ties to Israel.
The alumni demanded that the college, located in New York City “divest” from what they called “Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid” and called for the school to “endorse the Palestinian-led call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel,” as stated in the letter.
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The BDS movement “calls for the end of Israeli occupation, decolonization of Palestine, dismantling of the Wall [Israel’s security barrier with the West Bank], recognition of the fundamental rights of Palestinian citizens of Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the full right of return of Palestinian refugees,” the alumni wrote.
The alumni letter also called on the school administration to “establish a joint student and faculty body working with local Indigenous-led organizations to take concrete, immediate steps towards reparation and decolonization” by pursuing goals such as “material reparations” to indigenous people, “anti-racist pedagogy,” and affirmative action to benefit minorities in the hiring process.
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The signers threatened that they will “collectively commit to refraining from contributing financial support to Hunter College” and “abstain from participating in events that highlight the accomplishments of Hunter College graduates during orientations or any professional events” until their demands are met.
Hunter College experienced protests last November in which students from the Palestine Solidarity Alliance shouted several anti-Israeli slogans, as reported by The New Yorker.
Campus Reform has contacted Hunter College and the Palestine Solidarity Alliance of Hunter College for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
