New York governor orders removal of Palestinian studies positions at Hunter College

Previous protest at Hunter College in New York

 Middle East Eye

A labour union at City University of New York termed the move an 'overreach of authority' and violation of academic freedom

Hunter College was ordered to remove two job postings for Palestinian studies positions by the Democratic governor of New York in the latest targeting of academic freedom in the state.

Hunter College - which makes up one of City University of New York's (Cuny) 25 campuses - advertised it was seeking both humanities and social sciences faculty to take “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”.

The roles were announced Monday afternoon after they were posted on Cuny’s website, but the posts were removed by mid-week.

In a Bluesky post announcing the roles, sociology professor Heba Gowayed said on Monday, “I am so pleased to announce a Palestinian Studies cluster hire. This is an incredible source of pride for me as a faculty member and one of the many reasons that I feel so lucky to work here.”

She also said she felt like “the luckiest person in academia…Proud of Hunter administration for being a voice for justice in the face of so much horror.”

By the next day, on Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul had taken action to order the postings be removed “to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom”, according to a statement that The New York Post said her office had issued.

The very same day, Cuny chancellor Felix Rodríguez and board of trustees chairperson William C Thompson Jr capitulated and announced they agreed with Hochul’s decision to remove the postings, and the university would continue to “tackle antisemitism”.

In a joint statement, they said: “We find this language divisive, polarizing and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s direction to remove this posting, which we have ensured Hunter College has since done. CUNY will continue working with the Governor and other stakeholders to tackle antisemitism on our campuses and combat hate in all of its forms.”

By Wednesday, the postings had been taken down. The same day, Gowayed said she was “feeling grief at the dehumanization inherent to all this”.

The Professional Staff Congress, a labour union representing 30,000 faculty and staff at Cuny, hit back at the removal of the postings, calling it “a violation of academic freedom” at Hunter College, in a letter to Hochul and Rodriguez.

“We oppose antisemitism and all forms of hate, but this move is counterproductive. It is an overreach of authority to rule an entire area of academic study out of bounds,” the letter said.