The Israel Heritage Foundation called on the Biden administration and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, to denounce the recent antisemitic CUNY commencement address by a law school graduate.
The Israel Heritage Foundation on Wednesday decried the commencement address at CUNY Law School by Fatima Mousa Mohammed that it described as "rife with antisemitic tropes and anti-Israel sentiments."
They noted that in Mohammed’s remarks, she accused Israel of “indiscriminately…murdering the old [and] the young… as it encourages lynch mobs,” spoke about “fuel for the fight against…Zionism around the world,” and attacked the New York Police Department.
"The antisemitic commencement address at CUNY Law School by Fatima Mousa Mohammed was reprehensible and reproachable, and the anti-Israel animus that she exhibited by vilifying the Jewish State in her remarks was appalling," Israel Heritage Foundation said. "Subjecting an audience at a law school graduation to such brazen hatemongering goes beyond the pale, and the blatant fabrications and dangerous insinuations that she made underscore her utter disdain for Israel and the Jewish community."
They called out Mohammed for using the platform she was given to "promulgate bigoted statements and dangerous antisemitic tropes, and her actions and words were vile and vindictive."
"It was horrifying to hear people in the audience applaud Ms. Mohammed’s repugnant remarks, which sadly fosters an environment in which antisemitism and hate are permitted to fester. In addition, it was disturbing to see Mayor Eric Adams, who has properly condemned Ms. Mohammed’s hate-filled speech, being booed by the audience when he referenced his former career as a police officer during his remarks at the CUNY graduation."
The Israel Heritage Foundation, noting the "heinous nature of Mohammed’s antisemitic remarks," called on Ambassador Lipstadt and the Biden administration to publicly denounce her speech and to "condemn her blatant bigotry."
In the aftermath of the White House’s newly released US National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, it is essential that Ambassador Lipstadt and the Biden administration "take this opportunity to condemn Ms. Mohammed’s despicable antisemitic display, which was shamelessly made in a public forum," they said.
"The Biden administration’s strategy to combat antisemitism addresses the hate that Jewish students face on college campuses, and it is therefore inconceivable that the White House would not take this opportunity to condemn such obvious and outrageous antisemitism in a university setting. In order to effectively combat antisemitism, it needs to be made evident that Ms. Mohammed’s comments indeed constitute antisemitism, and it must be made clear that there are ramifications for trafficking in hate."
The Israel Heritage Foundation commended the CUNY Board of Trustees for denouncing Mohammed’s hateful speech, yet they questioned why the White House has so far remained silent.
"Staying silent in the face of racist rhetoric that engenders greater hatred towards Jews cannot be an option, and we therefore urge Ambassador Lipstadt and the Biden administration to immediately issue a forceful denunciation of Ms. Mohammed’s outrageous antisemitic commencement address."