PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Eli Meron, Student at Baruch College, CUNY
3:25:15
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127 sec
Eli Meron, a senior at Baruch College, shared his personal experiences of antisemitism and hostility on campus following the October 7th attack in Israel. He emphasized the urgent need for implementing the Lippman Report recommendations to address discrimination against Jewish students at CUNY.
- Meron faced insensitive comments from friends and was advised to hide his Jewish identity for safety
- He reported incidents of physical threats and hostility but received inadequate support from school authorities
- The student urged CUNY to prioritize better training for handling incidents of antisemitism and stronger accountability systems
Eli Meron
3:25:15
Good afternoon, chairman Dinowitz, members of the committee, and council.
3:25:18
Thank you for holding this important hearing and allowing Drew students to stand up for themselves.
3:25:22
Chancellor Matos Rodriguez should be here now.
3:25:25
My name is Eli Marrone.
3:25:26
I'm a senior at Baruch College.
3:25:27
Like many, my story highlights the urgent need to implement the Liberman Report recommendations immediately.
3:25:31
As a graduate of a Wiesenthal Center program, I'm aware of the potential consequences my testimony may have on campus, but I choose to stand up for the truth regardless.
3:25:40
I'm an Israeli American.
3:25:41
October 7th was deeply personal for me.
3:25:44
I posted on Instagram to spread awareness about my friend, Dhivir Barazani, who lost his life at 20 years old while fighting for the Israeli Defense Force, a mutual and a mutual friend, Omar Nutra, who was being who was being held hostage in Gaza today.
3:25:57
My close college friends betrayed me with comments such as, what did you expect to happen, why is this different for when people in Gaza die, and Jews have absolutely no right to be in Palestine, attempting to gaslight me into feeling guilty for grieving for my friends.
3:26:10
There was no shared grief.
3:26:13
Baruch became so hostile that one day, my coach grabbed my and my friend's Jew Star necklace, instructing us to remove it for our protection.
3:26:21
This same school that told me to take off my juice star was fully aware of the hostile environment and yet did nothing even after I reported that a team captain had physically threatened me solely for being Israeli.
3:26:32
I walked to and from school in fear of being attacked while CUNY failed to act.
3:26:37
Instead of offering resources or guidance on reporting the incident to higher authorities, the coach told me to let it go and that we are all family.
3:26:46
This highlights the harm caused by inadequate training for students and faculty on addressing students face.
3:26:55
We should not have to choose between our safety and our right to express our identity.
3:26:59
The CUNY and CUNY has a legal obligation to ensure that we don't have to.
3:27:04
I urge CUNY to prioritize implementing the recommendations of the Liberman Report, including better training for handling incidents of Jewish hatred and more robust accountability symptoms systems.
3:27:13
Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, both on and off campus when within their teams.
3:27:18
Thank you for listening to my story and commitment for making CUNY a safer and more inclusive place for everyone.
