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While originally scheduled for June 8, the hearing was pushed off to June 30 to accommodate Matos Rodriguez. The Chancellor has not provided an explanation for his absence. He sent representatives; two vice chancellors and the president of the graduate center, who only granted the committee virtual appearances.
The glaring absence of Matos Rodriguez was discussed at length. “They (CUNY officials) are not here in this room to listen to the painful testimony of the teachers and students who have experienced pervasive, ongoing discrimination and antisemitism at school,” Inna Vernikov said at the start of the hearing. “The Chancellor’s not showing up today is perpetuating the antisemitism that we’re here to explore. There’s been no accountability at CUNY, no one’s being held responsible for what’s going on all over our city and our state. My question is, would the same thing happen if this was a discussion of any other ethnic minority?” she continued.
The seven hour-long hearing featured testimonies from students and faculty decrying what they say is the increasingly hostile and intolerant culture in CUNY schools for Israeli and Jewish students, and a deep bias in the way faculty present Israel in relation with other countries when discussing human rights issues.
Susan Tuchman, Esq., of the Zionist Organization of America said, “At a rally to protest tuition rises, Jewish students were threatened…one student threatening to light someone on fire because they wore a sweatshirt in support of Israel.”
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