Antisemitism turned ugly at CUNY’s Queens College during a pro-Israel rally, sources said Wednesday.
During Monday’s event on the Flushing campus, a pro-Palestinian activist approached a Jewish student and shouted, “Go back to Poland!. Back to Germany. That’s where you come from.”
The rant, which included obscene gestures, was caught on video.
Israeli flags were also taken and trampled by anti-Israel protesters, Jewish students complained.
Assemblyman Sam Berger, who represents the Queens College area, said he had fielded complaints from Jewish students and parents about harassment.
“Tensions have been running high on campus for several weeks. The Muslim Student Association is making an antisemitic note. They are using the name of Queens College to spread hate and it has no effect,” Berger fumed.
Telling Jewish students to return to Germany and Poland is a hateful and antisemitic statement, Berger said.
“I have grandparents who survived the Holocaust. Hearing someone say, ‘Go back to Poland, go back to Germany’ is scary,” said the representative.
“We went from disagreements to hate speech. That has to stop. I hope we can reduce the tension. I don’t want to see anyone hurt.”
Antisemitism turned ugly at CUNY’s Queens College during a pro-Israel rally, sources said Wednesday. Stop Antisemitism/X
Queens College has a large number of Jewish and Muslim students.
QC President Frank Wu previously announced an investigation into harassment and bigotry on campus and criticized the Muslim Student Association for issuing a “false and misleading” post that “denied the atrocities” committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians during the October 7 attacks.
He addressed complaints of harassment and discrimination in a letter to the QC community on Wednesday.
“Queens College opposes bigotry in any form; this includes combating antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as racism and sexism and other explicit and implicit discriminatory behavior,” Wu said.
During Monday’s event on the Flushing campus, a pro-Palestinian activist approached a Jewish student and shouted, “Go back to Poland!. Back to Germany. That’s where you come from.” Stop Antisemitism/X
“We strive to avoid repeating stereotypes around us in the community while ensuring that incidents of individual behavior violations are addressed through applicable policies and processes. The safety of campus residents is paramount, and we will continue to investigate reports of any actions affecting it,” he said.
He said the college has increased security patrols and is working closely with Precinct 107 to help protect students and staff. He urged students and employees to report allegations of harassment or assault to the Office of Compliance and Diversity.
Other New York universities have also come under fire for alleged antisemitism.
Three New York colleges — Columbia, Cornell and Cooper Union — are among seven schools being investigated by the Department of Education over complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.
A Cornell student was recently arrested for making anti-Jewish death threats.
Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul has ordered a separate state investigation into antisemitism on the City University of New York campus.
The Muslim Student Association could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
