We, the undersigned CUNY Graduate Center faculty and students, ask the members of the Doctoral Students' Council (DSC) to reject the proposed resolution endorsing the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions. If passed, the resolution would violate long-established academic principles defending the free exchange of ideas. It is disheartening that the resolution is aimed at a nation with a robust tradition of academic freedom whose universities are open to all.
We ask DSC members to heed the words of Sari Nusseibeh, the Palestinian president of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, who said, in response to earlier British efforts to boycott Israeli academics: “If we are to look at Israeli society, it is within the academic community that we’ve had the most progressive, pro-peace views and views that have come out in favor of seeing us as equals.”
Furthermore, the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement against Israel is counter-productive and falsely paints the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a black and white issue while ignoring the true complexity of the situation. What is needed on both sides are measures that will lead to trust and not to recriminations. We encourage the DSC to use its voice to call for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and to find ways to foster an environment of mutual understanding and respect.
As of October 13th, 258 signers included:
Jozef Dodziuk,Thomas Kurtzman, Robert M. Seltzer, Jane S. Gerber, Eugene Chudnovsky, Fred Naider, Azi Genack, Carole Eisen, Gabor T. Herman, Yehuda Klein, Morton M. Denn, Michael Maller, Brian Mawyer, Martin Elsky, William H. Hersh, Jonathan Zisook, Yuval Abrams, Ngee-Pong Chang, Lev Murokh, Micalle Carl, Samuel Heilman, Paul Wachtel, Joseph W. Rachlin, Charles Kadushin, Alexandrea Ravenelle, Susan B Prager, Irving Robbins, Gordon Dale, Tadmiri Venkatesh, Martin Braun, Nadia Malinovich, Ira Sheskin, Ted Brown, Mark Rosenblum, Susie Tanenbaum, Samuel Z. Klausner, Igor L Kuskovsky, Leonard Presby, Roberta R. Farber, Irving Leonard Markovitz, Dr. Jonathan Helfand, Professor Emeritus CUNY, Leon Karp, Judith Schor Veinstein, Judith Schor Veinstein, Distinguished Professor Emerita Corinne A. Michels, Stanley Ocken, Susan A. Rotenberg, Ailene Nusbacher, David Topel, Dr. Ronald I. Rothenberg, Joel Gersten, Jesse Kanter, Steven Remy, Morris Dickstein, Naftuli Moster, Esther Wilder , Mara Sheftel, Hannah Rothstein, Jill Douek, Hadar Schwartz, Gary Berman, Bess Rowen, Yael Lavender-Smith, Samuel R Thomas, Dr. Andy Teirstein, Jordan Lavender-Smith, Nachum Niv, Yochi Cohen-Charash, Ashley Chastain, Christina Ventura-Dipersia, Evan Misshula, David Rumschitzki, Rebecca Merkin, Mark Black, Dr. Dmitry Garanin, Koby Oppenheim, Charles W. Smith, Andre Aciman, Sara Reguer, Yehuda E. Benchemhoun, Daniel Kabat, Hanan Eytan, Catherine B Silver, S. Prakash Sethi, Linda Weiser Friedman, Hersh Friedman, Prof. Spencer Schein, Bryan S. Turner, Shaul Kelner (CUNY-GSUC Ph.D., Sociology, 2002), Susan Jacobowitz, Assoc. Prof., QCC, Moshe Banai, Inna Bakman, Prof. Ilan Troen, Seymour Aronson, Robert Bittman, Jay Rosen, Lawrence Gold, Herbert Danzger, Emeritus Professor of Sociology The Graduate Center and Llehman College, Alexander Lisyansk, Lev Deych, Vivian Chou, Roy Nitzberg, Sara Miller, Frances Degen Horowitz, Abraham Ascher, George Jochnowitz, Isaac Chavel, Barry Cherkas, Maria Mytilinaki, Saul B. Troen, Richard D. Mosak, Seymour Schulman, Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, C.S.Russell, Alfred Levine, Yael Rosenstock, Steve Greenbaum, Ilya Kofman, Joseph Malkevitch, Linda Keen, Anatoly Kuklov, Ann Jacqueline Martelle, Marily Gunner, Brian Schwartzm, Gregory Aizin, Ari Maller, Alexander Kheyfits, Kevin Lynch, Myriam P. Sarachik, Micha Tomkiewicz, Robert Thompson, Jonah Leshin, Jeremy Kahn, Diana Berkowitz, Mel Nathanson, Michael Mirkin, Michal Kruk, Arthur Apter, Robert Engel, Jeremy Ginsburg, Leon Cohen, David Tepper, Ronnie Ghose, Charles Drain, Frida Kleiman, Regina Gradess, Alan Lyons, Dr. Joseph Sungolowsky, David Richter, Erin McKinney-Prupis, Jessica Steier, Sharon Flatto, Glenn Burger, David Schmeltzer, Alan Reiter, Christina Sormani, Bianca Santoro, Anshel Gorokhovsky, Robert Sibner, Judith Lorber, Uri Samuni, Ruth Stark, Edgar Feldman, Lawrence Kobilinsky, Emmanuel Chang, Irit Bloch, Alberto Baider, Benjamin Hett , Elissa Bemporad, Alisa Stern, Brian Smollett, Roman Kezerashvili, Antonia Foldes, Kenneth Kramera, Joan Borod, Yedidyah Langsam, Hayeem, Rudy John Brenkman, Asaf Shamis, Naomi Gardberg, Debbie Kaminer, Joshua Howard, Felicia Bonaparte, Yujia Xu, Ken Weisshaar, Prof.Carol Steiner, Leah Cohen, George Wolberg, Robert Paaswell, Shoshana Bederman, John Tarbell, Shulamith Gross, Nir Krakauer, Barry Gross, Hansong Tang, Douglas Troeger, Latif Jiji, Sam Lightstone, Steven Markowitz, Laena Orkin, Brittany Bascetta, David Goldberg, Linda McDowell, Joshua Wilner, Ellen Wiewel, Betty Wolder Levin, William Rossow, Cary Nelson, Ardavan Yazdanbakhsh, Ardavan Yazdan, Beth Vayshenker, Abbe Mowshowitz, Mateo Duque, Mary Clare Lennon, Yonathan Feffer, Larry Bank, Lisanne cheifetz, Louis Lipani, Larry Liebovitch, Kevin O'Bryant, Jay Verkuilen, Robert Moses Shapiro, Mitchell Cohen, Sal Legio, David Jeruzalmi, Lev Shneerson, Anat Maor, Gordon Whatley, Sam Bernstein, Zeno Huang, Philip Barnett, Manfred Philipp, Jonathan Engel, Victor Pan, Hillel Broder, Lauren Savitz (CUNY Law Student c/o '16), Marcello Lucia, Joseph Lewittes, Tali Noimann, Pamela Butler, Stanley Dubinsky, Robert Feinerman, Peryl Agishtein, Aliza Schwartzblatt, Matthew J. Hoptman, PhD, Professor Dinah Moche, David Berger, Ethan Zadoff, Meira Levinson and Dan Mailick.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
September 16, 2014
September 12, 2014
Reaching this level of support confirms that so many of us believe in protecting the open environment of our institution. Seeing this groundswell of people who prioritize dialogue over division gives me genuine hope that the council will choose to keep our doors and our minds wide open.
September 12, 2014
I have been meeting with colleagues across different departments to discuss why keeping our academic channels open is vital for genuine progress. The pushback we have faced only reinforces my belief that we must defend the right to study and debate without these restrictive barriers.
Reached 100 supporters
September 10, 2014
8 Comments
Academic boycotts never help anyone. We need to keep the doors open for talking, not shut them down.
dont think this is right. universities are for sharing ideas not blocking them.
Agree entirely. Dialogue is the only way forward.
THIS IS ABOUT FREE SPEECH plain and simple. keep schools out of politics.
I signed the petition, but the issue is too important to rest. I would suggest to have a meeting of all interesting parties, certainly including the whole Doctoral Student Council, to discuss the issue. Thank you. Sincerely, Alexander Kheyfits
I am not a PhD student or in CUNY but I support this petition.
These graduate students are either uneducated or Jew haters, or both. Israel, in the "Six Day War of 1967" won the land of Gaza from Egypt. In addition, they won the Sinai from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Throughout history, countries have been winning land as a result of war, or the threat of the use of power. For example, consider any of the many Empires that have existed. For example, the Roman Empire, the English Empire, etc. Also, countries have won land in war, or the imposition of power. For example, Russia [most recently, Ukraine, and parts of Poland prior to and following WW II], the US of A, and so many others. So, why are these ignorant and hateful folks fixated on Israel, that tiny democracy? They should be ashamed of themselves.
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We, the undersigned CUNY Graduate Center faculty and students, ask the members of the Doctoral Students' Council (DSC) to reject the proposed resolution endorsing the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions. If passed, the resolution would violate long-established academic principles defending the free exchange of ideas. It is disheartening that the resolution is aimed at a nation with a robust tradition of academic freedom whose universities are open to all.
We ask DSC members to heed the words of Sari Nusseibeh, the Palestinian president of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, who said, in response to earlier British efforts to boycott Israeli academics: “If we are to look at Israeli society, it is within the academic community that we’ve had the most progressive, pro-peace views and views that have come out in favor of seeing us as equals.”
Furthermore, the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement against Israel is counter-productive and falsely paints the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a black and white issue while ignoring the true complexity of the situation. What is needed on both sides are measures that will lead to trust and not to recriminations. We encourage the DSC to use its voice to call for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and to find ways to foster an environment of mutual understanding and respect.
As of October 13th, 258 signers included:
Jozef Dodziuk,Thomas Kurtzman, Robert M. Seltzer, Jane S. Gerber, Eugene Chudnovsky, Fred Naider, Azi Genack, Carole Eisen, Gabor T. Herman, Yehuda Klein, Morton M. Denn, Michael Maller, Brian Mawyer, Martin Elsky, William H. Hersh, Jonathan Zisook, Yuval Abrams, Ngee-Pong Chang, Lev Murokh, Micalle Carl, Samuel Heilman, Paul Wachtel, Joseph W. Rachlin, Charles Kadushin, Alexandrea Ravenelle, Susan B Prager, Irving Robbins, Gordon Dale, Tadmiri Venkatesh, Martin Braun, Nadia Malinovich, Ira Sheskin, Ted Brown, Mark Rosenblum, Susie Tanenbaum, Samuel Z. Klausner, Igor L Kuskovsky, Leonard Presby, Roberta R. Farber, Irving Leonard Markovitz, Dr. Jonathan Helfand, Professor Emeritus CUNY, Leon Karp, Judith Schor Veinstein, Judith Schor Veinstein, Distinguished Professor Emerita Corinne A. Michels, Stanley Ocken, Susan A. Rotenberg, Ailene Nusbacher, David Topel, Dr. Ronald I. Rothenberg, Joel Gersten, Jesse Kanter, Steven Remy, Morris Dickstein, Naftuli Moster, Esther Wilder , Mara Sheftel, Hannah Rothstein, Jill Douek, Hadar Schwartz, Gary Berman, Bess Rowen, Yael Lavender-Smith, Samuel R Thomas, Dr. Andy Teirstein, Jordan Lavender-Smith, Nachum Niv, Yochi Cohen-Charash, Ashley Chastain, Christina Ventura-Dipersia, Evan Misshula, David Rumschitzki, Rebecca Merkin, Mark Black, Dr. Dmitry Garanin, Koby Oppenheim, Charles W. Smith, Andre Aciman, Sara Reguer, Yehuda E. Benchemhoun, Daniel Kabat, Hanan Eytan, Catherine B Silver, S. Prakash Sethi, Linda Weiser Friedman, Hersh Friedman, Prof. Spencer Schein, Bryan S. Turner, Shaul Kelner (CUNY-GSUC Ph.D., Sociology, 2002), Susan Jacobowitz, Assoc. Prof., QCC, Moshe Banai, Inna Bakman, Prof. Ilan Troen, Seymour Aronson, Robert Bittman, Jay Rosen, Lawrence Gold, Herbert Danzger, Emeritus Professor of Sociology The Graduate Center and Llehman College, Alexander Lisyansk, Lev Deych, Vivian Chou, Roy Nitzberg, Sara Miller, Frances Degen Horowitz, Abraham Ascher, George Jochnowitz, Isaac Chavel, Barry Cherkas, Maria Mytilinaki, Saul B. Troen, Richard D. Mosak, Seymour Schulman, Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, C.S.Russell, Alfred Levine, Yael Rosenstock, Steve Greenbaum, Ilya Kofman, Joseph Malkevitch, Linda Keen, Anatoly Kuklov, Ann Jacqueline Martelle, Marily Gunner, Brian Schwartzm, Gregory Aizin, Ari Maller, Alexander Kheyfits, Kevin Lynch, Myriam P. Sarachik, Micha Tomkiewicz, Robert Thompson, Jonah Leshin, Jeremy Kahn, Diana Berkowitz, Mel Nathanson, Michael Mirkin, Michal Kruk, Arthur Apter, Robert Engel, Jeremy Ginsburg, Leon Cohen, David Tepper, Ronnie Ghose, Charles Drain, Frida Kleiman, Regina Gradess, Alan Lyons, Dr. Joseph Sungolowsky, David Richter, Erin McKinney-Prupis, Jessica Steier, Sharon Flatto, Glenn Burger, David Schmeltzer, Alan Reiter, Christina Sormani, Bianca Santoro, Anshel Gorokhovsky, Robert Sibner, Judith Lorber, Uri Samuni, Ruth Stark, Edgar Feldman, Lawrence Kobilinsky, Emmanuel Chang, Irit Bloch, Alberto Baider, Benjamin Hett , Elissa Bemporad, Alisa Stern, Brian Smollett, Roman Kezerashvili, Antonia Foldes, Kenneth Kramera, Joan Borod, Yedidyah Langsam, Hayeem, Rudy John Brenkman, Asaf Shamis, Naomi Gardberg, Debbie Kaminer, Joshua Howard, Felicia Bonaparte, Yujia Xu, Ken Weisshaar, Prof.Carol Steiner, Leah Cohen, George Wolberg, Robert Paaswell, Shoshana Bederman, John Tarbell, Shulamith Gross, Nir Krakauer, Barry Gross, Hansong Tang, Douglas Troeger, Latif Jiji, Sam Lightstone, Steven Markowitz, Laena Orkin, Brittany Bascetta, David Goldberg, Linda McDowell, Joshua Wilner, Ellen Wiewel, Betty Wolder Levin, William Rossow, Cary Nelson, Ardavan Yazdanbakhsh, Ardavan Yazdan, Beth Vayshenker, Abbe Mowshowitz, Mateo Duque, Mary Clare Lennon, Yonathan Feffer, Larry Bank, Lisanne cheifetz, Louis Lipani, Larry Liebovitch, Kevin O'Bryant, Jay Verkuilen, Robert Moses Shapiro, Mitchell Cohen, Sal Legio, David Jeruzalmi, Lev Shneerson, Anat Maor, Gordon Whatley, Sam Bernstein, Zeno Huang, Philip Barnett, Manfred Philipp, Jonathan Engel, Victor Pan, Hillel Broder, Lauren Savitz (CUNY Law Student c/o '16), Marcello Lucia, Joseph Lewittes, Tali Noimann, Pamela Butler, Stanley Dubinsky, Robert Feinerman, Peryl Agishtein, Aliza Schwartzblatt, Matthew J. Hoptman, PhD, Professor Dinah Moche, David Berger, Ethan Zadoff, Meira Levinson and Dan Mailick.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
September 16, 2014
September 12, 2014
Reaching this level of support confirms that so many of us believe in protecting the open environment of our institution. Seeing this groundswell of people who prioritize dialogue over division gives me genuine hope that the council will choose to keep our doors and our minds wide open.
September 12, 2014
I have been meeting with colleagues across different departments to discuss why keeping our academic channels open is vital for genuine progress. The pushback we have faced only reinforces my belief that we must defend the right to study and debate without these restrictive barriers.
Reached 100 supporters
September 10, 2014
8 Comments
Glad to see some common sense here. Boycotting fellow scholars is the wrong way to go.
Academic boycotts never help anyone. We need to keep the doors open for talking, not shut them down.
dont think this is right. universities are for sharing ideas not blocking them.
Agree entirely. Dialogue is the only way forward.
THIS IS ABOUT FREE SPEECH plain and simple. keep schools out of politics.
I signed the petition, but the issue is too important to rest. I would suggest to have a meeting of all interesting parties, certainly including the whole Doctoral Student Council, to discuss the issue. Thank you. Sincerely, Alexander Kheyfits
I am not a PhD student or in CUNY but I support this petition.
These graduate students are either uneducated or Jew haters, or both. Israel, in the "Six Day War of 1967" won the land of Gaza from Egypt. In addition, they won the Sinai from Egypt, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Throughout history, countries have been winning land as a result of war, or the threat of the use of power. For example, consider any of the many Empires that have existed. For example, the Roman Empire, the English Empire, etc. Also, countries have won land in war, or the imposition of power. For example, Russia [most recently, Ukraine, and parts of Poland prior to and following WW II], the US of A, and so many others. So, why are these ignorant and hateful folks fixated on Israel, that tiny democracy? They should be ashamed of themselves.
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Glad to see some common sense here. Boycotting fellow scholars is the wrong way to go.