Read our editorial on the attacks on education here.
Four adjunct professors at Brooklyn College were fired in June for their pro-Palestine activism, according to the professors and their union. Brooklyn College is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, which has been facing increased pressure from its students, faculty, and staff to reinstate not only the fired faculty but its expelled and suspended students in connection with pro-Palestine activism. The firings came as CUNY’s administration was set to speak before a congressional hearing on “antisemitism” on campuses—a federal witch hunt against pro-Palestine campus activism.
Universities have been escalating their crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement in tandem with the federal government since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood impelled solidarity protests across the world. University administrations have subjected students to disciplinary hearings, suspensions, and expulsions while the Department of Justice has arrested and attempted to deport students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy.
The fired professors were all in good standing and had already been recommended reappointment by their department heads and assigned classes for fall. They have not been provided with an explanation for their dismissal by the university. One of the professors told The Intercept, “The only reason we know it’s related to Palestine is because that’s the only thing we have in common.”
The union representing the staff, the Professional Staff Congress (PSC), also said it has written to CUNY administration at least four times requesting further information on the firing. In a letter from PSC President James Davis to CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, he stated, “What the four instructors who lost their CUNY jobs at the same time have in common is their public protest against Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights.” Earlier this month, the union released a statement calling the firings an “ideological purge” as part of a “new McCarthyism”.
The firing has also received condemnation from over 100 CUNY Jewish faculty and staff, who wrote in a letter, “Firing our colleagues is an abhorrent act setting a dangerous precedent.”
The fired professors told The Intercept that they will continue fighting in defense of Palestine regardless of the repression.
Photo: CUNY pro-Palestine encampment. Retrieved from Home/Field.
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