Letter to NY Governor Hochul and leaders of the City University of New York regarding the Palestinian Studies position at Hunter College

The Honorable Kathy Hochul

Governor of the State of New York

 

William C. Thompson, Jr.

Chairperson, Board of Trustees, the City University of New York

 

Félix V. Matos Rodriguez

Chancellor, the City University of New York

 

Dear Governor Hochul, Chairperson Thompson and Chancellor Rodriguez:

 

We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our grave concern about Governor Hochul’s unprecedented demand that Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) take down a posted advertisement for a new, open-rank position in the field of Palestinian Studies. We are equally disturbed by the acquiescence of Chancellor Rodriguez and Chairperson Thompson in the governor’s grossly improper interference with an approved search being conducted by a respected academic institution. Governor Hochul’s action, reportedly the result of pressure by political groups based outside of the academic world, threatens free scholarly inquiry in a legitimate academic field; as such it is a clear violation of the principles of academic freedom, a direct attack on teaching and learning and a dangerous assault on CUNY’s integrity and autonomy.

 

MESA was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching on the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, the Association publishes the prestigious International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 2,800 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and outside of North America.

 

In October 2024, after listening sessions with students and faculty, the Hunter College administration announced a search for two new positions in Palestinian Studies. The posting for the first of the two positions to be advertised stated: “We seek a historically grounded scholar 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. We are open to diverse theoretical and methodological approaches.” 

 

According to media reports, after the position was advertised groups and individuals apparently seeking to suppress serious scholarly study of, and education about, Palestine and the Palestinians began demanding that Governor Hochul stop the search. On 25 February 2025, Governor Hochul issued a statement which characterized the advertisement’s use of the terms “genocide,” “settler colonialism,” and “apartheid” as antisemitic and demanded that Hunter College remove the job posting and launch an investigation “to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom.” In a statement to the media issued on the same day, Chancellor Matos and Board of Trustees Chairperson William Thompson described the advertisement as “divisive, polarizing and inappropriate” and expressed their agreement with Governor Hochul’s demand to remove the posting.

 

The terms used in the advertisement, including genocide, settler colonialism and apartheid, have for decades been widely deployed by scholars in disciplines across the social sciences and the humanities. In the interdisciplinary field of Palestinian Studies, scholars – including Israeli scholars – have used these terms, rigorously defined and applied, to study and elucidate a range of political and social issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hunter College’s advertisement for the position in Palestinian Studies was therefore professionally and intellectually legitimate. Moreover, the claim advanced by Chancellor Rodriguez and Chairperson Thompson that the advertisement was “divisive, polarizing and inappropriate” constitutes an insult to scholarship and to the university they lead. Investigating complex and controversial issues in a scholarly manner, and educating students about how to engage with them in the same manner, must be critical dimensions of research and pedagogy at CUNY as at all of this country’s institutions of higher education.

 

We further note that by directly interfering in how Hunter College pursues its educational mission Governor Hochul is attacking the very foundations and values of a democratic society. The kind of politically motivated intervention in which she engaged is characteristic of authoritarian societies; it should have no place in this country, all the more so in the current moment when freedom of expression and free scholarly inquiry are under severe assault. We call your attention to the letter from the president of the American Association of University Professors dated 28 February 2025, which stated in part: “Amidst this extraordinarily repressive climate, it is imperative that both government and university leaders serve as bulwarks against authoritarian interference—not as further impediments to academic freedom and inquiry.”

 

We therefore call on Governor Hochul to rescind her demand that the advertisement for this position be taken down. We further call on the governor, along with Chancellor Rodriguez and Chairperson Thompson, to respect the intellectual and professional judgment, and the academic freedom, of Hunter College’s faculty, and to uphold rather than subvert CUNY’s autonomy and integrity.

  

We look forward to your response.

 

Sincerely,

 

Aslı Ü. Bâli 

MESA President

Professor, Yale Law School

 

Laurie A. Brand
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom
Professor Emerita, University of Southern California