CUNY’s law school banned student speakers from future classes following an anti-Israel tirade last year that called the NYPD and other groups “fascist.”
In a now-infamous speech last year, Yemeni immigrant Fatima Mousa Mohammed claimed laws were “white supremacy” and attacked American institutions.
The speech immediately sparked backlash from numerous organizations and elected officials, even as Fatima defended her words and amplified her message.
Meanwhile, authorities have quietly banned students from speaking at the school’s graduation ceremony, but they will continue to give speeches as a “pre-event.”
“It’s a big step in the fight against hate speech in law school – that they change the process to make sure that what happened in the last two years doesn’t happen again,” said New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov.
Fatima Mousa Mohammed used her graduation ceremony to smear the NYPD and the US military as “fascists” and called on her colleagues to continue the “revolution” against capitalism and racism across the country
During the controversial speech, Dean Sudha Shetty sat on the stage and clapped for Mohammed.
CUNY wants to make the 2024 ceremony “shorter and focus on making everyone in attendance feel welcome.”
“We appreciate the small steps, but everything they do can’t just be a reaction to bad press,” she told the New York Post.
The school said in a statement it was “committed to ensuring a ‘welcome’ commencement ceremony for 2024.”
Adar Rubin, an activist with End Jew Hatred, also welcomed the idea that a student speaker would not be allowed.
Rubin wrote that student speakers “spit out hatred of Jews.”
“Furthermore, Dean Sudha Setty’s statement below classifying the New York Jewish community’s outrage and requests for CUNY to recognize their civil rights on campus as “anti-Palestinian harassment” is beyond disgrace,” he added added.
🚨BREAKING CUNY UPDATE🚨
CUNY Law will discontinue its practice of selecting student speakers for its official commencement ceremony.
This is a small step in the right direction, HOWEVER they still allow students to have a “private pre-event” where a… pic.twitter.com/ngW8uu2gCm
— Adar Rubin (@rubin_a1) September 20, 2023
Some students disagreed with CUNY’s resolution and believe the school is restricting free speech.
“I understand why they want to do it, to eliminate controversy and things like that,” said CUNY law student Michael Piazza.
“But you know, I believe in free speech, so I think that whether someone disagrees with what she said or not, I think she should probably be allowed to say it.
Mohammed called the NYPD and the US military “fascists” and called on her colleagues to continue leading a “revolution” against capitalism and racism across the country.
The future lawyer claimed that black and brown prisoners were being murdered daily in U.S. prisons and took on her own university for “collusion with global violence.”
Mohammed began her speech by saying, “I chose CUNY School of Law because of its clearly stated mission of law in the service of human needs.”
“One of the few legal institutions created to recognize that the law is a manifestation of white supremacy that continues to oppress and oppress people in this country and around the world.”
During the controversial speech, Dean Sudha Shetty sat on the stage and clapped for Mohammed. However, numerous people spoke up after the speech.
The future lawyer claimed that black and brown prisoners were being murdered daily in U.S. prisons and took on her own university for “collusion with global violence.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who attended the ceremony, later criticized the speech in a tweet.
“I was proud to deliver a different message at this year’s CUNY bill-introduction ceremony – one that celebrates the progress of our city and our country, and one that honors those who fight to keep us safe and protect our freedoms, like my uncle Joe, who…” “died in Vietnam at the age of 19, giving his life for our country,” Adams said.
“We cannot allow our students to only hear words of negativity and division.”
Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the New York Republican candidate for governor, said, “Raging anti-Semitism has completely engulfed the City University of New York.”
“Until the administration is overhauled and all Jewish students and faculty are welcomed back, taxpayer funding must stop immediately.”
“Zionism is based on racist, colonial dispossession and ethnic cleansing,” she said, reciting her speech almost verbatim
But massive criticism and hatred could not dissuade Mohammad from her views.
“I didn’t think CUNY would come out and say that my speech, which was approved by CUNY law, was ‘hate speech,'” she told Alex Kane, senior reporter for Jewish Currents.
She added: “Even a first-year law student would know that he is using a definition of hate speech that does not meet legal standards.”
Mohammad then continued to talk about her anti-Zionist views.
“Zionism is based on racist, colonial dispossession and ethnic cleansing,” she said, reciting her speech almost verbatim.
“For as long as Zionism has existed, it has inflicted violence and suffering on the Palestinian people.” Our tax dollars are used to finance this violence.
She argued that her anti-Zionist views were actually her and her classmates’ “responsibility” as future lawyers – and it was their way of honoring their fellow graduates.
“With the call for Zionism, I wanted to honor both the election of my colleagues as class representatives and the mission statement of our school,” she said.
Regarding her angry comments about the military, Mohammed said that CUNY students have “vocally opposed racism, protested the role of the military-industrial complex, protested the privatization of higher education, and supported global liberation movements from South Africa to the United States.” have”. Puerto Rico to Palestine.’
“Those calling for defunding CUNY are willfully ignorant of what CUNY is and who CUNY serves,” she said.
During her time as a student in the city, Mohammed was known as an enthusiastic protester and active member of Students for Justice in Palestine.