NEW YORK / PNN / 

Over 400 alumni of the City University of New York (CUNY) have signed a letter expressing their solidarity with Fatima Mohammed, a Yemeni graduate of CUNY School of Law who has been targeted by a smear campaign for speaking out against Israeli war crimes in her commencement speech this year.

The signatories said they were “deeply concerned both about the law school’s inaction in protecting a student at a time when her safety and well-being is at risk, as well as by the actions of the Board of Trustees and Chancellor that actively worsened the harm caused. We are appalled that any student — let alone a student who has spoken at the behest of her classmates — would be put in danger without any action or statement of support by our law school.”

The letter read, “The law school claims to be an institution that stands united in the belief that only when the world can see the full range of human experience reflected and represented in the law will we have justice for everyone. In total conflict with this purported mission, CUNY’s disregard for the student, her experience, and her humanity is unacceptable and unconscionable.”

“We are appreciative and proud of her [Fatima’s] call for social justice. To see her words distorted and characterized as hateful by the Mayor and the New York Post is reprehensible, but to see this further affirmed by CUNY’s Board of Trustees and Chancellor is an affront to all of us,” added the letter.

“The attack on this CUNY student is also a shameful example of the vilification of students in educational institutions around the country who support Palestine or are critical of Israel.”