PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Kira, Student at John Jay College (CUNY)
3:13:18
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154 sec
Kira, a student at John Jay College (CUNY), testified about her experiences with antisemitism on campus, particularly in a victimology course where guest speakers presented biased views against Israel and Jews. She expressed concern over the lack of balanced perspectives and the professor's unwillingness to present alternative viewpoints.
- Kira reported incidents of anti-Israel protests and speakers with "vile views on Israel" spreading antisemitic rhetoric on campus.
- She described a victimology class where guest speakers, including a "pro-Hamas person" and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, presented one-sided narratives about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
- Kira attempted to address the bias with her professor but felt dismissed and was told to present her own narrative if she wanted an alternative perspective.
- She emphasized the need for CUNY to hold faculty accountable for biased conduct in classrooms, referencing recommendation 9 of the Lippman report.
Kira
3:13:18
Good morning or afternoon at this point, and thank you, chair Dinowitz and all the council members for coming.
3:13:25
And thank you to the chancellor of CUNY, although he does not seem to be staying for our testimonies.
3:13:30
My name is Kira.
3:13:31
I go to John Jay.
3:13:33
For the 1st year and a half of being there, I noticed how passionate the students and faculty and staff were about advocating for everyone and especially minorities.
3:13:41
However, too many incitement incidents have taken place at school to say that this passion applies to Jewish students on campus.
3:13:48
Students protest inside the building and have allowed speakers who have vile views on Israel and spread anti Semitic rhetoric, and our club, the Hillel Club, has been targeted.
3:13:57
During my spring semester of last year, I enrolled in a victimology course where the professor brought guest speakers.
3:14:03
These speakers were here to apply different frameworks on the war in Israel.
3:14:07
However, both speakers, a pro Hamas person and a member of Jewish Voice For Peace, a radical anti Israel group, were of the same mind.
3:14:14
Israel, and sometimes even the hostages were the words they used, are the oppressor and Hamas and the Palestinians are victims.
3:14:20
I sat there in disbelief as all the things they had to say horrible about the Jewish people.
3:14:25
Claiming that Zionism is a political ideology that conceals its crimes and confuses people, that all Israelis and Jews are armed to the teeth, and that October 7th was an act of desperation by Hamas.
3:14:36
I spoke to the professor afterwards and expressed my concern for the lack of an opposing narrative and how the class was only given the chance to learn about half of the war.
3:14:45
In return, he continued to only share his narrative and gaslight what I had to say.
3:14:49
After 2 hours, he gave me a solution.
3:14:51
I could stand up in front of the class and present my narrative of the war or bring a speaker, but he made it clear that he was not going to represent anything else
Kayla Aaron
3:14:59
other than his biased narrative.
3:14:59
He told me that he was teaching the reality of the
Kira
3:14:59
future, meaning, he was Palestinians had a successful resistance.
3:15:02
It's not my job to provide
Inna Vernikov
3:15:02
lessons to the class,
Kira
3:15:03
but I was able to bring professor Bratman to teach the other side to the war.
3:15:15
Unfortunately, my professor clapped back, interrupted, and even laughed at professor Bratman on anything he had to say.
3:15:22
The class was unable to ask questions and it was a very uncomfortable situation.
Eric Dinowitz
3:15:25
Next, please wrap it up.
Kira
3:15:27
Yes.
3:15:27
Throughout the Littmann report, we see that in recommendation 9, like you discussed before, that hold faculty and others accountable for violative conduct.
3:15:35
I think this professor needs to be held responsible and CUNY needs to take responsible.
3:15:39
We did report this professor, although nothing has been done, and he was able to bring these speakers into class.
3:15:43
It was uncomfortable.
3:15:44
And in the future, we need to see that these professors are being taken action against and that these they're being held accountable for their biases in a classroom.
Eric Dinowitz
3:15:53
When when you said nothing's done, did you get no response or feedback or communication from CUNY when you made the complaint?
