The City University of New York said it will not divest from Israel after releasing investment records sought by anti-Israel student activists.
“CUNY has consistently denounced BDS activity,” a spokesperson for the school told JNS. “The university has made clear it will not participate in divestment and is prohibited from doing so by law.”
New York’s Executive Order 157, signed in 2016, directs state agencies and certain state entities under the governor’s authority to divest public funds from companies and institutions engaged in boycott, divestment and sanctions activity targeting Israel.
The records show CUNY held investments in defense companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Palantir, Elbit Systems and General Dynamics, according to anti-Israel groups that reviewed the disclosures. The 2025 holdings report also lists investments in other companies, including Caterpillar, GEO Group and CoreCivic.
The university released the records following a legal battle with Sarah Southey, a CUNY School of Law student and member of CUNY Law Students for Justice in Palestine. Southey filed a Freedom of Information Law request in March 2024 seeking records on CUNY’s investment holdings and contracts as part of efforts to pressure the university to divest from companies connected to Israel.
Under a settlement announced on Aug. 18 in Southey v. City University of New York, CUNY agreed to provide investment reports covering July 2023 through the present, drop its appeal of a 2025 court ruling and pay $20,000 in legal fees to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which represented Southey.
