Ralliers Decry CUNY's Selection of Muslim Activist Linda Sarsour As
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Ralliers decry CUNY’s selection of Muslim activist Linda Sarsour as graduation speaker National co-chair of Women’s March scheduled to give commencement address Friday Foes of Muslim activist Linda Sarsour held a rally Thursday to decry her selection as graduation speaker at the City University of New York, accusing her of supporting terrorism and chanting, “Surely CUNY can do better!” At a protest outside the CUNY building in Manhattan, New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind condemned as “outrageous” the decision to invite Ms. Sarsour to speak at Friday’s commencement at the Graduate School of Public Health. “When CUNY invites Linda Sarsour to be the commencement speaker, that is something that is imposed upon the students,” said Mr. Hikind. “Freedom of speech is a precious commodity in America, and no one wants to take away anyone’s freedom of speech. But when CUNY imposes Linda Sarsour on the students, that’s outrageous. Shame on CUNY!” Speakers at the rain-soaked rally used a microphone but still had to shout to be heard over the shouts and whistle-blowing of counter-protesters who gathered to support Ms. Sarsour. Pamela Geller, president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which organized the rally, blasted the public university’s decision as “obscene,” describing Ms. Sarsour as a “pro-terror vicious anti-Semite” and punctuating her remarks with, “Surely CUNY can do better!” CUNY president James B. Milliken has stood by the school’s decision to have Ms. Sarsour speak, even though she “might hold views that are controversial.” While one might disagree with the School of Public Health’s decision to invite Ms. Sarsour to speak at commencement, that difference of opinion provides no basis for action now,” he said in an April 26 statement. “Taking action because critics object to the content of speech would conflict with the First Amendment and the principles of academic freedom.” Five CUNY professors defended the school’s decision to invite Ms. Sarsour in a Monday open letter, saying the selection committee decided she represented “the new activism of young people, women, immigrants and others speaking out against discrimination and intolerance.” “Right-wing critics are quick to complain when college students protest inviting speakers like Betsy DeVos, Milo Yiannopoulos or Charles Murray to speak on campus, but feel justified in calling for limits on free speech when they disagree with speakers, a double standard that fundamentally misunderstands the First Amendment,” said the letter on Inside Higher Ed. Ms. Geller insisted that “this is not about free speech,” given that “Linda Sarsour is free to speak on college campuses and does so frequently,” but rather with honoring her by providing her with a graduation platform. “The idea of inviting her to keynote the commencement address—those invitations are bestowed upon people to enhance the college’s reputation,” said Ms. Geller. “Why would you hold her up as a role model?” An advocate of Sharia law, Ms. Sarsour has become a political icon on the left, honored in 2014 by the Obama administration as a “champion of change” for her work in Arab-American communities. She raised her profile this year as a national co-chair of the anti-Trump Women’s March in January and drew outrage by suggesting in a March interview that supporters of Israel cannot also be feminists because they don’t care about Palestinian women. “Can you imagine if you defend Israel, if you support Israel, you cannot be a feminist?” asked Mr. Hikind. “My wife took that to heart, because she’s a feminist and she loves Israel.” Milo Yiannopoulos-led protest against CUNY commencement speaker Linda Sarsour turns violent A raucous rally against CUNY’s School of Public Health’s commencement speaker ended in violence Thursday when demonstrators clashed with counter- protesters. The scuffle broke out after an unlikely band of protesters — including conservative provocateur Pam Geller, Assemblyman Dov Hikind and alt-right bad boy Milo Yiannopoulos — blasted CUNY’s decision to select civil-rights activist Linda Sarsour. A small group of demonstrators chanting “Make America Great Again” surrounded and roughed up 19-year-old counter-protester Heather Morris. “They tried hitting me with their fists, their sticks, whatever they found,” Morris said after the fracas on E. 42nd St. at Second Ave. “They’re a bunch of Nazis...They probably targeted me because I’m young and I’m brown, too.” No arrests were made. An outcry broke out in April after CUNY announced that it tapped Sarsour, a city activist who some accuse of being anti-Semitic, to be its June commencement speaker. Sarsour’s profile has risen in recent months as she organized the Women’s March in Washington. She has also led a number of city protests against police brutality and helped raise thousands of dollars to help repair a vandalized Jewish cemetery in St. Louis. But Sarsour has also been criticized for denouncing Zionism and tweeting a photo of a young boy with rocks in each hand facing Israeli police, along with the words “the definition of courage.” “Why would CUNY have a commencement speaker who supports terrorism and believes in throwing rocks?” Hikind (D-Brooklyn) said at the Thursday rally. Geller expressed a similar sentiment. “I wanna say a prayer for CUNY chancellor James Milliken that he rights this terrible wrong,” said Geller, best known for trying to run a series of controversial subway ads ripping radical Islam. “That he would invite a pro-terror, vicious anti-Semite to keynote the commencement address this year is obscene and profane." Yiannopoulos, not surprisingly, launched an even more scathing attack on Sarsour. “Linda Sarsour is a Sharia-loving, terrorist-embracing, Jew-hating, ticking time bomb,” said the former Breitbart editor who lost his job after suggesting that he supported pedophilia. Several CUNY professors have come forward to resist the calls to replace Sarsour — saying that bowing to the critics would “conflict with the First Amendment and the principles of academic freedom.” A CUNY spokesman used similar language in defending the decision Thursday. “Some, who object to Ms. Sarsour's positions, have called on CUNY to rescind the invitation,” the rep said. “To take such actions at a public university would violate the First Amendment as well as the principles of academic freedom.” PROTESTERS CLASH ABOUT LINDA SARSOUR’S CUNY SPEECH IN RAINY NYC BYDANIELLE ZIRI MAY 26, 2017 00:35 Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist known for her anti-Israel rhetoric, is set to address the graduates of its School of Public Health at their commencement ceremony on June 1st. NEW YORK - As hundreds of people gathered on Manhattan’s 42nd street on a rainy Thursday afternoon to protest Linda Sarsour’s upcoming speech at a City University of New York graduation, they were met with vocal opposition from the some of the activists’ supporters. Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist known for her anti-Israel rhetoric, is set to address the graduates of its School of Public Health at their commencement ceremony on June 1st. Since her participation was announced, pro-Israel activists and politicians have lead efforts to pressure CUNY and state officials into rescinding her invitation. In an interview conducted in March, Sarsour said one cannot be part of the feminist movement unless he or she is critical of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Last month, she also publicly supported a convicted Palestinian terrorist, Rasmea Odeh. “I don’t think that she should be representing not only a city school, but a taxpayer funded school, with hate speech,” one of the anti-Sarsour protesters, Lisa Bloomstein told the Jerusalem Post. Bloomstein, who chose to come to the protest despite the heavy rain, said she isn’t just protesting Sarsour for her stances on Israel. “It’s a lot more than that,” she said. “As Jews, yes we don’t want to see someone calling for boycott and for denying the existence of the State of Israel, but more than that, as an American, I’m standing up for our democratic values and our civil liberties.” “I think there’s gotta be many many other women and men who are muslim and could better represent our values rather than a woman like this,” Bloomstein added. Parallel to the protest, on the other side of the same street, Linda Sarsour supporters held signs and shouted at the pro-Israel speakers, calling them “fascists”. One of the organizations present on that side, Refuse Fascism, issued a statement saying the anti-Sarsour protest is “aimed at intimidating, silencing and even unleashing harm against those who have the courage to stand up and say no”. Travis Morales, who defended Linda Sarsour, told the Jerusalem Post the Palestinian activist represents “a voice of conscience” “She and any other person who is standing up against the crimes of the Trump-Pence regime must be defended,” he said. “We cannot allow them to silence and intimidate.” “Linda Sarsour is not anti-Jewish, from my understanding, she is anti- Zionist,” Morales added. “One horrific crime against humanity [the Holocaust] does not justify another horrific crime against humanity, which is the genocide and expulsion of the Palestinian people from their historic homeland.” Thursday’s rally which was held outside CUNY offices, drew much criticism mainly because it included the participations of controversial right-wing activists Pamela Geller and Milo Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart editor associated with the alt-right. Both spoke to the pro-Israel attendees, against Linda Sarsour. Yiannopoulos begun his speech mentioning the terror attack which took place this week in Manchester in the UK. “It’s now more important than ever to fight Islam in America and particularly its emissaries like Linda Sarsour,” he said.