CAIR-NY Welcomes CUNY Law’s Reversal of Decision to Remove Pro-Palestinian Commencement Speech

Credit: CUNY School of Law

(NEW YORK, NY, 5/25/2023) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the decision by CUNY Law School to reverse its decision to remove video of Fatima Mohammed’s pro-Palestinian commencement speech.

Yesterday evening, the CUNY School of Law uploaded the full 2023 commencement program to its YouTube page featuring Fatima Mohammed’s commencement speech. Mohammed gave the commencement speech on May 13, 2023. Like all the commencement speeches for the last nine years, CUNY Law livestreamed the speech. However, in the past week, Mohammed’s commencement speech was taken down.   

SEE: CUNY School of Law Commencement 2023 | Complete Program  

CAIR-NY, alongside other organizations, condemned the original censorship at CUNY Law, highlighting the silencing of voices that shed light on human rights abuses.  

SEE: CAIR-NY Condemns CUNY Law Censorship of Muslim Student’s Pro-Palestinian Commencement Speech  

SEE: New York City law school under fire for 'silencing' criticism of Israel 

SEE: US university condemned for removing pro-Palestine speech from YouTube  

In a statement, CAIR-NY's Executive Director Afaf Nasher, Esq. said:      

“CUNY Law’s decision to reverse the prior censorship of the speech upholds basic principles of free expression and inclusivity and represents a triumph for academic freedom. While we commend CUNY Law for rectifying the censorship issue, this incident serves as a reminder to all institutions of higher education to take note and do better.  

“Speaking about Israeli apartheid and Palestinian human rights is not an exception to freedom of speech. Protecting the rights of marginalized communities should be a fundamental commitment for higher education across the country. We urge other institutions to learn from this example.”  

Nasher also welcomed CUNY Law’s decision to upload Nerdeen Kiswani’s pro-Palestinian commencement speech from 2022.    

CAIR-NY's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR-NY es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

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CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, Esq., CAIR-NY Executive Director, 917-669-4006, anasher@cair.com; Ahmed Mohamed, CAIR-NY Legal Director, 646-481-2103, ahmedmohamed@cair.com