The Lawfare Project and co-counsel Alston & Bird attended the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s hearing on antisemitism in higher education on July 15 to help inform congressional members of the crisis of Jew-hatred at the City University of New York (CUNY).
The visit follows a lawsuit filed in December 2024 by The Lawfare Project and its legal partners on behalf of Leah Garrett, chair of Jewish Studies at CUNY Hunter College. The suit alleges a deeply entrenched, hostile and discriminatory environment for Jewish faculty and students at the institution. For example:
- Jewish students and faculty were denied the right to celebrate Chanukah and light the menorah, only for the university to approve a 300-person Ramadan celebration just weeks later.
- After swastikas were posted at the college entrance, Garrett was forced to plead with administrators for more than four hours before they reluctantly agreed to cover the hate symbols, claiming that the matter was “not that simple.”
- Garrett was forced to cancel Jewish Studies classes due to security concerns when the university refused to provide protection.
- Following doxxing and repeated threats, Jewish faculty members removed their names from office doors and directories out of fear.
- Despite urgent and repeated requests from Garrett to address the escalating danger, CUNY did nothing.
“I am thankful for the many members of Congress who worked with us to ensure that the deeply disturbing facts about antisemitism at CUNY were brought forward in this hearing,” said Ziporah Reich, director of Litigation at The Lawfare Project. “While it is deeply frustrating to hear more platitudes and vague promises from CUNY’s leadership, we are encouraged to see federal lawmakers demanding accountability. The Lawfare Project and our co-counsel at Alston & Bird will continue to pursue our legal action, and we will not stop until real policy change—not just empty words—ensures safety and equality for the Jewish community on campus.”
As part of their advocacy, Reich, her co-counsel and Garrett met in Washington with key lawmakers, including chairman of the House Education Committee Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and other members of the committee to provide critical context and documentation of CUNY’s failure to respond to antisemitism.
They also worked closely with the office of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who during the hearing directly confronted the CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and how he “failed the Jewish people of New York.”
The Lawfare Project remains committed to using the law as a tool to protect Jewish civil rights and combat antisemitism in all forms.
For more information about The Lawfare Project, visit their website or contact James Lambert, vice president at Rubenstein Public Relations, at: jlambert@rubensteinpr.com or 212-805-3024.
ABOUT ALSTON & BIRD:
The Alston & Bird team includes litigation partners Michael Hefter and Seth M. Cohen, and litigation senior associate Alan M. Mendelsohn. The firm remains committed to a range of pro bono and legal service efforts.
