The City University of New York must disclose its investment records to anti-Israel student groups, the Supreme Court of New York ruled on Thursday.
The New York Civil Liberties Union, the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit in November against CUNY after the university system denied a Freedom of Information Law request by law student Sarah Southey on behalf of CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine and CUNY for Palestine earlier last year.
A university spokesperson told JNS that it “is reviewing the court’s decision, its legal options and possible next steps.”
The records request specifically pertained to CUNY’s investment funds, bonds and private equity holdings, as well as whether it has contracts with companies such as Dell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, according to the NYCLU.
“This decision is a huge win for institutional transparency, accountability and CUNY4Palestine’s campaign demanding CUNY divest from Israel,” Southey said.
The NYCLU argued in its complaint that CUNY had released earlier versions of the requested records to a prison divestment group in 2015.
“Public universities like CUNY have a legal obligation to uphold transparency and treat all its students, faculty and community members equally, no matter their viewpoint,” stated Veronica Salama, attorney at the NYCLU. “CUNY can’t just pick and choose which viewpoints to respect and which to ignore—every student deserves fair, equal treatment.”
