The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), a leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned CUNY Brooklyn College for inviting the NYPD onto its campus to target and arrest about a dozen peaceful anti-genocide student protesters late last week.
SEE: Brooklyn College Pro-Palestinian Protest Ends in Arrests after Tents Erected on Campus
SEE: 14 Detained During Pro-Palestinian Protest at Brooklyn College
The encampment’s “liberation zone,” which took place on May 8 on the college’s lawn, involved students erecting tents and demanding that the City University of New York (CUNY) system divest from corporations complicit in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza. The demonstrators were also calling for the protection of free speech, academic freedom, and an end to what they described as CUNY’s complicity in apartheid policies and genocide. NYPD arrived at the scene around 6 PM, with students charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct.
CUNY campuses statewide recently updated campus protocols to increase police presence on campus. These updated protocols reflect a report on antisemitism ordered by Governor Hochul, in which former judge Jonathan Lippman recommends CUNY administrators “coordinate at all times with law enforcement to protect everyone at CUNY.” Given the history of police brutality waged against vulnerable communities of color, however, the newly adopted protocols facilitate violence against student protestors, rather than enable the safe exercise of first amendment freedoms.
In a statement, CAIR-NY’s Executive Director, Afaf Nasher, Esq. said:
“Instead of upholding their role as protectors of free inquiry and dissent, too many institutions, like CUNY Brooklyn College have chosen the path of repression. We call on university leadership, faculty, and community members to stand firmly with students, reject complicity in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, and protect the right to protest without fear of police violence or federal retaliation.”
The arrests at CUNY Brooklyn College come a day after students at Columbia University staged a sit-in on a campus library that resulted in upwards of 72 arrests.
SEE: CAIR-NY Condemns Columbia U Crackdown on Peaceful Anti-Genocide Student Protesters
CAIR-NY continues to call on Brooklyn College to stop escalating situations with the NYPD Strategic Response Group and drop all disciplinary actions.
If you have experienced discrimination or violence during an arrest at a protest, please contact CAIR-NY by filling out an incident report on our website (LINK).
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CONTACT: Afaf Nasher, CAIR-NY Executive Director, ANasher@cair.com; CAIR-NY Communications Team, comms@ny.cair.com