The anti-Israeli organization SUNY BDS went ahead and hosted a “launch event” on Tuesday one day after it was issued a cease-and-desist letter by SUNY lawyers.
The controversial group claims to represent students and faculty of the system’s 64 universities — but also says they are not associated with SUNY.
The group has accused Israel of “occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing” amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
SUNY slapped the activist organization with a cease and desist letter on Friday warning them against “using intellectual property” of the state university system and followed up on Monday demanding they comply.
“SUNY BDS is specifically advised that any failure or delay in complying with these demands will likely compound the damages for which SUNY BDS may be liable” SUNY lawyers wrote, and demanded a written response back.
BDS stands for boycott, divestment and sanction and is part of a larger movement to punish those who do business with Israel.
Apparently unfazed by the warning, SUNY BDS held its online event on Zoom on Tuesday anyway, where speakers discussed strategies to get the SUNY system to break economic ties with Israel.
The Zoom included a disclaimer that read “SUNY BDS not officially associated with the State University of New York. The views expressed here are 100% our own and do not reflect the views of the State of New York or SUNY.”
A SUNY spokesperson told The Post that the disclaimer made it “clear that their opinions are their own and do not represent SUNY or the State of New York.
“SUNY has been unequivocal in its condemnation of Hamas’s horrific terrorist attack on Oct. 7, absolute in defending Israel’s right to exist, and resolute in rejecting bigotry and prejudice of any kind on our campuses, including antisemitism and Islamophobia,” SUNY said in a statement.
“The safety of our students is and always will be paramount, and SUNY is committed to ensuring an inclusive environment that is free from harassment and discrimination.”
The group’s actions also fly in the face of New York state’s Executive Order 157, which mandates that the state divest all public funds from groups that support boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns against Israel.
More than 2,000 people – including dozens of SUNY faculty members — have signed a statement endorsing SUNY BDS.
The statement says the group will work towards “ending recruitment to major weapons manufacturing companies, divesting endowments and pensions from funds that support Israel, and implementing a boycott of Israeli cultural and academic institutions and organizations that profit from and perpetrate the genocide.”
Tuesday’s speakers included Mosab Abu Toha, an award-winning Palestinian poet and scholar who was in Gaza when the war erupted on Oct. 7; and Riham Barghouti, a Palestinian-American activist.
Barghouti said that SUNY BDS is a “nonviolent movement” inspired by the American Civil Rights Movement and South Africa’s Anti-Apartheid Movement. The group “opposes all forms of racism” — including antisemitism and islamophobia, she said.
She also noted the death of 25-year-old airman Aaron Bushnell, who died after setting himself on fire outside of the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. in protest of the war in Gaza.
“To honor his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of so many others … we must keep up the pressure to end the current genocide being perpetrated by Israel,” Barghouti said.
SUNY BDS also announced a “day of action” across all 64 campuses on March 26.
The SUNY BDS posted screenshots of the Post’s Sunday article on the group as well as a photo of several people holding a copy of Friday’s paper which featured the story on the front page.
“Sunybds steering committee collecting this newspaper like it’s a trophy,” the photo was captioned.
A SUNY spokesperson said the event included a disclaimer “making clear that their opinions are their own and do not represent SUNY or the State of New York.”