PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Kayla Bellin, President of Hillel at City College
4:27:03
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133 sec
Kayla Bellin, a junior at City College and president of Hillel, provided testimony on antisemitism at CUNY, focusing on points 6 and 9 of the Lippman report. She shared personal experiences of antisemitic incidents in classrooms and discussed the need for accountability and addressing intimidation.
- Highlighted instances where Israel's existence was denied and compared to Nazi Germany in classroom settings
- Emphasized the power of professors' words and the need for accountability
- Described an intimidating incident involving a student wearing a keffiyeh as a mask
Kayla Bellin
4:27:03
Hello.
4:27:04
My name is Kayla Belin.
4:27:05
I'm a junior at City College and the president of the Hillel at City College.
4:27:10
I would like to provide context for point 6 and 9 of the Lippmann report.
4:27:15
Judge Lippmann's 6th recommendation maintains that CUNY should increase consideration of the relationship between Israel and the Jewish people.
4:27:22
I have two accounts relevant to this topic.
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First, a student in one of my classes referred to the land of Israel as Arab lands.
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He said that Jews lives on live on Arab lands and was not corrected.
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The class proceeded as usual with this reference to Israel as Arab land seemingly accepted.
4:27:42
This was now information that had been taught.
4:27:45
It had been accepted by the students in the room.
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This denied the existence of Israel and the tie between Jews and their state.
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2nd, I've been in classes where the professor has explicitly stated that Israel is in the same state that Germany was in during the Nuremberg trials, namely completely guilty of heinous crimes and genocide.
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I've had professors say, Israel is doing to the Palestinians what Germany did to the Jews.
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This is Holocaust inversion.
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This comment made in front of a classroom of impressionable students is not only a lie, but also characterizes the state of Israel and Israelis as Nazi who are guilty as Nazis who are guilty of intentionally and deliberately murdering 6,000,000 Jews.
4:28:31
Inflammatory comments made in a classroom setting not only misinform students, but have the power to spark antisemitism.
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In support of point 9 of judge Lippman's report, professors should be held accountable for these comments because their words hold a lot of power as students immediately accept them as truth.
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In addition, a student in one of my classes, from which I have since unenrolled, wrapped his face entirely in a kefirah in the middle of class.
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It was not worn on his shoulders or on his head as other students wear it as a sign of protest, but was wrapped around his entire face so only his eyes were showing.
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This is an act of intimidation.
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Masking is extremely relevant to the anti Semitism issue on Canadian campuses.
4:29:14
It is intimidation.
4:29:15
Thank you for your time
Eric Dinowitz
4:29:16
and attention.
