Leila Khaled resolution by “fringe” academic union at CUNY is “declaration of war” on Jewish community, say activists
Members of a “fringe” academic-staff union at the City University of New York (CUNY) have “declared war on the Jewish community,” according to an advocacy group that fights anti-Jewish racism on campus.
The accusation came after CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress (PSC) International Committee passed a resolution last week condemning what it called the “censorship” of a virtual event with terrorist hijacker Leila Khaled.
As a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ms Khaled took part in two terrorist hijackings in 1969 and 1970. The U.S. Government has designated the PFLP as a terrorist organisation.
Ms Khaled was due to take part in the virtual event entitled “Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice, & Resistance: A conversation with Leila Khaled”. It had been widely promoted on social media and was due to have been live-streamed on Zoom. But the video-conferencing platform and social-media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, withdrew.
The resolution also cited “a pressure campaign” by various anti-racism groups, which it blamed for the decisions by the platforms to drop the event.
The Lawfare Project stated that “this resolution was passed so that CUNY PSC could set up a committee and begin fundraising against our efforts to keep terrorists and Jew-hatred off campuses. In doing so, this fringe union has declared war on the Jewish community.”
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