By Prof. Sarah Raymundo
The news about pro-Palestine student leader and professors being dismissed from the City University of New York (CUNY) is both disheartening and enraging, laying bare the severe punishment inflicted upon good people by war criminals and their academic proxies. This repression has been longstanding.
Before the current iteration of the genocide, and as recent as 2017-2018 as CUNY students prepared for the March of Return and the 70th Nakba anniversary (May 2018), Zionist groups escalated their enocidal campaign. They toured US campuses to propagate lies and manufacture consent for occupation and genocide, revealing the US State’s central role as both a foundational supporter and the mastermind behind the Israeli occupation of Palestine and wars of aggression in West Asia and worldwide.
Young comrades from Gabriela NY shared how they became targets of surveillance and were forcefully listed by the City College of New York (CCNY) administration. This retaliation occurred after they protested a pro-Zionist forum-lecture that the administration had welcomed and sponsored – an event subsequently weaponized against students from diverse and marginalized ethnic backgrounds who had come together to confront Zionism on their campus. Shame on that administration, then and now.
In hindsight, that was indeed a period of widespread anti-Zionist campaigning in NYC. There was even a proposal put forth within my co-op by anti-Zionist Jewish members to boycott Israeli products. This initiative, which aimed to halt the distribution of such items by Park Slope was one I personally supported.
However, co-op’s leader started talking about his “positionality” as a black person married to a black woman doctor. He did not go so far as to discuss the Black Panthers Party but ended up opposing the proposal instead. That perceived contradiction has remained a particularly striking memory for me.
It’s a consistent truth that communities fundamentally aspire to life, abundance, joy, justice, and peace. However, those entrusted with positions of power – even seemingly minor ones, such as academic leaderships meant to champion the public’s agenda – frequently betray this trust. They condescend, intimidate, and even terrorize constituents for challenging the status quo, seemingly driven by a desire for personal advancement, be it small perks or higher office. The true motivations of such self-serving opportunists are deeply troubling.
A dear friend and comrade, an excellent writer and scholar, absolutely one of the best activist union and anti-imperialist organizers not only of NYC but the world, Dr. Corinna Mullin, has been targeted and smeared by zionist organizations and no less than the CUNY administration. In a very recent attack on students and faculty, CUNY admin suspends student Hadeeqa Arzoo Malik and four faculty members in what activists are saying as “an attempt to quell the passionate student and worker movement for Palestinian liberation within the City University of New York.”
In an interview with Mondoweiss, Professor Mullin links and raises the long-time issue of CUNY adjuncts to the current wave of pro-Palestine and anti-imperialist protests:
“Because of our weak contractual protections, adjuncts are some of the most vulnerable among CUNY workers, as demonstrated by the fact at least four adjunct faculty members have recently had their employment terminated by CUNY in apparent retaliation for protected speech against genocide and in violation of the principles of academic freedom.”
Corinna is an indispensable and prolific thinker and writer. She has been a highly valued speaker for our Center (for International Studies, University of the Philippines-Diliman), union, and Bayan’s webinars throughout the pandemic. She powerfully illuminated threats to academic freedom and the US-Zionist onslaught on Gaza, all while the world was reeling from the horrors of Covid-19. Her remarkable commitment also saw her co-organizing essential international solidarity events, from the impactful “We Charge Genocide” (2020) to the recent “Legal Counterinsurgency and Repression of the Left” (just two weeks ago!). Indeed, her involvement spans hundreds of other crucial meetings, panels, conferences, and people’s tribunals in between.
There’s one particular video of Comrade Corinna in a pro-Palestine protest that I have probably watched too many times and replayed often in my mind that I can call it up instantly. One such instance was about a year ago, as I was having a delectable Penang breakfast with Marie, a dear Canadian friend and comrade who has spent many years dedicated to the Filipino struggle for national liberation. I think we were talking about the student encampments in the US when I started telling her about this clip featuring Corinna.
In the video, you see about three rows of police advancing upwards on concrete steps. Corinna just casually walks into frame, climbing the steps, passing right by them, no problem. Then, you hear chanting. The screen widens, showing a line of protestors holding up a huge sign, though you can’t read what it says because of the camera angle. At this precise moment, Corinna executes a swift 180-degree turn, moving behind the protest banner. She then squarely faces the police, joining the powerful chorus: “To get to our students, you have to get through us! To get to our students, you have to get though us!”
It was an act of incredible stealth, grace, and defiance. Marie was visibly moved. Tears welled in her eyes, and she continued to weep softly throughout the remainder of our breakfast, apologizing for being, as she put it, “a cry baby.” Maybe it was my perfect delivery of the chant, but honestly, how could anyone not be moved to tears by such extraordinary acts of bravery and resolve?
As Gaza’s schools lie in ruins, the CUNY administration has actively silenced dissent. A student leader is suspended and four professors are fired for organizing university divestment from the US-backed Israeli occupation and the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. These actions demonstrate CUNY’s full alignment with the suppression of advocacy for Palestinian liberation.
Battle lines have been drawn long ago. As the battle for a free Palestine intensifies on multiple fronts, we recognize that this larger fight extends to, and necessitates, CUNY ending its repression of student activists and esteemed professors like Corinna Mullin.
Let them teach!
