City and Jewish Leaders Urge CUNY to Strengthen Student Code of Conduct Following Antisemitic Incident

NEW YORK, NY (12/09/2025) (readMedia)-- Leaders of major Jewish organizations, including JCRC-NY CEO Mark Treyger, alongside City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, are urging the City University of New York (CUNY) to take decisive action following a recent incident at City College that they say exposed serious shortcomings in how the university protects Jewish students from discrimination.

In a letter sent to CUNY leadership on Monday, the signatories raise alarm about a university-sponsored interfaith event last month in which a Jewish faculty member and Hillel director was publicly targeted and marginalized by another panelist because of his identity. According to the signatories, the egregiousness of the incident was compounded by the lack of an effective response in the moment and afterward, leaving Jewish students with the impression that they are not fully welcome on campus.

Read a full copy of the letter here.

The letter urges CUNY to strengthen its student conduct policies to explicitly address discrimination and harassment targeting Jewish identity, and calls for a clear, system-wide standard rather than disparate campus-level codes. As the letter states, "Jewish students for whom Zionism is a core component of their faith identity deserve consistent, enforceable safeguards across every CUNY campus."

The group points to recent actions taken by NYU as an example of how universities can define and enforce protections that prevent hostile environments and exclusion from campus activities.

The letter also acknowledges steps CUNY has already taken, such as requiring Title VI training for faculty and staff, and frames the proposed policy changes as a necessary continuation of that work. Earlier this year the legislature passed, and the Governor signed into law, new legislation that requires all campuses in the state to hire Title VI coordinators, a major priority of both JCRC-NY and UJA-Federation of New York.

Signatories also request an update on the university's progress in carrying out recommendations from the Lippman report focused on addressing antisemitism within the CUNY system. The group underscores its desire to work collaboratively with CUNY leadership to improve campus climate and to help ensure that all students feel safe, respected, and included.

The letter was signed by New York City Council Higher Education Committee Chair Eric Dinowitz; Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York; Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York; Scott Richman, New York/New Jersey Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League; Dr. Miriam F. Elman, Executive Director of the Academic Engagement Network; and Josh Kramer, Director of AJC New York.

"CUNY has a responsibility to ensure that no student or faculty member is targeted, excluded, or demeaned because of their Jewish identity," said Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. "What happened at City College revealed real gaps in how discrimination is addressed. Strengthening the student code of conduct is a necessary step to make it unmistakably clear that antisemitism has no place anywhere on CUNY's campuses, and that Jewish students belong and are protected, no matter where they study."