On 15 May — the commemoration of 75 years of ongoing Nakba — CUNY administration at Hunter College announced that they were censoring an event by the Palestine Solidarity Alliance, for the outrageous reason that Nerdeen Kiswani, CUNY alumna, chair of Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine, and 2022 CUNY Law School graduation speaker, would appear on the program and was “banned from speaking at Hunter.”
Please take action by sending an email to the administration, using the action alerts below created by CUNY 4 Palestine:
CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE EMAIL FROM CUNY FOR PALESTINE
In the United States, it is illegal — in violation of the U.S. Constitution — for public universities like CUNY to censor events or speakers based on their political position or viewpoint. To target a Palestinian organizer on 15 May, the day of commemoration of Nakba and the Day of Palestinian Struggle, further raises this action to a clear example of discrimination, following on multiple repressive actions by CUNY administration. It is also important to note that this comes after students and faculty at multiple CUNY Campuses have voted in support of boycott, divestment and sanctions resolutions and solidarity motions for Palestine despite repeated attempts to suppress this solidarity. For the second year in a row, students at CUNY elected a Palestinian speaker in 2023 as the student commencement speaker, with the graduation ceremony just days ago.
Palestine Legal issued a statement on the matter here.
This attack on Nerdeen Kiswani and the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance at Hunter College is part and parcel of the ongoing Nakba, alongside the ban on Nakba commemoration demonstrations in Berlin, targeting Palestinians in exile and diaspora with silencing and repression for calling for return and liberation for Palestine. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network expresses our full solidarity with Nerdeen Kiswani, the students of Hunter College and the CUNY 4 Palestine organizers as they fight repression, build community power and continue to put forward a clear perspective for the liberation of Palestine.
