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Q&A
Discussion on cross-cultural initiatives and training at CUNY
3:45:57
ยท
100 sec
Council Member Dinowitz inquires about cross-cultural discussions and initiatives at CUNY, and Ilya Bratman from Hillel responds with criticism of the current training and dialogue programs.
- Bratman highlights failures in training programs, particularly those conducted by the NYC Commission for Human Rights
- He notes that these trainings often exclude discussions about Israel, which is problematic for Jewish students
- Bratman expresses that Hillels are forced to conduct interfaith and intergroup dialogues without support from CUNY campuses
Eric Dinowitz
3:45:57
But one of the things I know your organizations do very well in your own ways is sort of cross cultural discussions, difficult conversations, bringing different communities together.
3:46:09
CUNY has spoken about some of the initiatives they've implemented, and there's more work to do.
3:46:16
Can any of the 4 of you either speak commentary about the work being done, positive or negative, and any more work that needs to be done in that area.
3:46:25
Ilya?
Ilya Bratman
3:46:25
Yes.
3:46:26
Absolutely.
3:46:26
So I was gonna talk about the training and the dialogue that has been tried to be done on campuses that has failed terribly.
3:46:34
The training that they bring on campus is often done by the New York City Commission For Human Rights, which, purposefully, in its training on antisemitism, takes Israel out of the conversation completely.
3:46:48
We just had this training at City College last week and at John Jay last semester.
3:46:53
And this training absolutely takes the current conditions and climate for our students away from them and this allows them to even feel that they're represented in the room.
3:47:03
And when we present, our dismay about this type of training, they say this is the the greatest training they can offer.
3:47:10
We are absolutely desperate to have, training that's accepted by all in at our campuses.
3:47:17
In terms of dialogue, there are very few programs that are actually working for students for certain.
3:47:22
There are some for faculty which are not great, and, they do not support the programs that we do on campus ourselves.
3:47:29
So Hillels are forced to do interface and intergroup dialogue on their own without the support of our campuses.