Queens College ‘cleans house' of Jewish accounting professors: Lawsuit
Queens College purged its accounting department of Jewish adjunct professors after 'antisemitic hate speech and violence' erupted on campus following the Hamas terror attack on Israel, according to a lawsuit.
Adjunct accounting professor Helen Schwalb says the City University of New York school declined to reappoint her in May 2023 — along with five Jewish colleagues — as part of an effort to 'clean house of its Jewish staff,' she claimed in court papers.
The school 'kept younger, non-Jewish educators with lower performance ratings,' Schwalb, 66, contended.
Queens College has been accused of failing to reappoint its Jewish adjunct accounting professors.
J.C. Rice
'The only remaining Jews in the [accounting] department are those with tenure who are in their 70s and 80s and will likely retire soon,' she said in the Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.
Schwalb, of Rockland County, taught two or three classes each semester as well as summer classes at the school since 2012 and had high performance ratings, she said.
The school claimed there was a shortage of enrollment and budget issues, but Schwalb said in court papers the two classes she was slated to teach were fully enrolled and given to other, less qualified educators.
Queens College has been accused of 'repeatedly' failing to stop a 'barrage of antisemitic hate speech and violence that emerged on campus since the October 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis by Hamas,' she said in the litigation.
Enrollment in the school's accounting department is down 39% between 2020 and 2024, the school told The Post, with an 18% drop between 2022 and 2023. Queens College declined comment on the lawsuit.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
19 minutes ago
- Associated Press
UN Security Council will vote on a resolution demanding a Gaza ceasefire, with US veto expected
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the Trump administration is expected to veto it because it does not link the ceasefire to the release of all the hostages held by Hamas. The resolution before the U.N.'s most powerful body also does not condemn Hamas' deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, or say the militant group must disarm and withdraw from Gaza — two other U.S. demands. The U.S. vetoed the last resolution on Gaza in November, under the Biden administration, because the ceasefire demand was not directly linked to the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. Similarly, the current resolution demands those taken by Hamas and other groups be released, but it does not make it a condition for a truce. Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza 'catastrophic,' the resolution, put forth by the 15-member council's 10 elected members, also calls for 'the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale, including by the U.N. and humanitarian partners.' President Donald Trump's administration has tried to ramp up its efforts to broker peace in Gaza after 20 months of war. However, Hamas has sought amendments to a U.S. proposal that special envoy Steve Witkoff has called 'totally unacceptable.' The vote follows a decision by an Israeli and U.S.-backed foundation to pause food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Israel and the United States say they supported the establishment of the new aid system to prevent Hamas from stealing aid previously distributed by the U.N. The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn't address Gaza's mounting hunger crisis, allows Israel to use aid as a weapon and doesn't comply with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence. The U.N. says its distribution system throughout Gaza worked very well during the March ceasefire and is carefully monitored. The resolution demands the restoration of all essential humanitarian services in line with humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law and U.N. Security Council resolutions. Several U.N. diplomats from different countries, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private, said they expect the United States to veto the resolution. They also said they expect a similar vote to the one in November, when the 14 other council members supported the resolution. Israel's U.N. Mission said Ambassador Danny Danon, who will speak after the vote, will say the resolution undermines humanitarian relief efforts and ignores Hamas, which is still endangering civilians in Gaza. He also will say the resolution disregards the ceasefire negotiations that are already underway, the mission said. Gaza's roughly 2 million people are almost completely reliant on international aid because Israel's offensive has destroyed nearly all food production capabilities. Israel imposed a blockade on supplies into Gaza on March 2, and limited aid began to enter again late last month after pressure from allies and warnings of famine. 'The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,' U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement Wednesday. He called for a flood of aid to be let in and for the world body to be the one delivering it. The Security Council has voted on 14 Gaza-related resolutions and approved four since the war began. That is when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 58 hostages, a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. ___ AP writer Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Boulder survivor recounts desperation trying to help woman on fire
Ed Victor had just finished the Run for Their Lives walk and was with group members gathering outside the Boulder, Colorado, courthouse on Sunday afternoon when he said he heard a crash, felt heat -- and then saw a woman on fire. 'My focus got extremely narrow at that time. I didn't notice anything else," Victor said at a news conference Wednesday with political and faith leaders outside the courthouse. "I was worried about that woman," he said, "and I'll tell you, when someone is on fire, it takes too long to put them out." MORE: Boulder attack latest: Number of victims climbs to 15 Victor said he and the other walk participants frantically looked around for what they had to help extinguish the flames: flags and a banner. Fifteen people ranging in age from 25 to 88 years old were hurt in the Molotov cocktail attack, prosecutors said. Some victims were "very seriously burned," Rabbi Mark Soloway said at the news conference. The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, allegedly yelled "Free Palestine" during the attack, the FBI said. He was arrested at the scene and has been charged with a federal hate crime and state charges, including 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, officials said. Soliman allegedly said he intentionally targeted Run for Their Lives, a peaceful group comprised of Jews and non-Jews who participate in weekly walks to raise awareness about the hostages in Gaza, according to court documents. Soliman told police "he wanted to kill all Zionist people," court documents said. He "said this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific in the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine)," documents said. Political and faith leaders strongly condemned the attack at Wednesday's news conference. "Antisemitism, violence and hate have no home in Colorado," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said. "We will not be silenced or scared. We will not let the demons of hate define us." "The whole Jewish community is reeling, shocked that this hideous hate crime could happen right here in downtown, beautiful Boulder, Colorado," Soloway said. "And yet, we have seen this coming ... Jews here and all over America and all over the world have not been feeling safe." The Boulder attack comes at a time of heightened violence against the Jewish community. In April, a suspected arsonist firebombed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's official residence because of "what [the governor] wants to do to the Palestinian people," according to a search warrant signed by Pennsylvania State Police. The suspect was arrested. On May 21, two Israeli Embassy staff members were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. When the suspect was arrested, he began to chant, "free, free Palestine," according to police. Two days after the D.C. attack, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a bulletin that the Israel-Hamas conflict "continues to inspire violence and could spur radicalization or mobilization to violence against targets perceived as supporting Israel." MORE: Colorado attack comes amid record incidents of antisemitic and Islamophic hate crimes The Anti-Defamation League has documented a dramatic rise in acts of hate targeting Jewish people in the U.S. since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel. In 2024, the ADL said it recorded a record high of 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., marking a 344% increase over the past five years and a 893% increase over the past 10 years. "I am angry," Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, said at Wednesday's news conference. 'It's way past time for our political leaders, community groups, media outlets, tech platforms, faith leaders to take action before more Jewish blood is spilled. And it's way past time to stop excusing antisemitic rhetoric," he said. Greenblatt urged the public to speak out against hate, sharing small, specific actions people can take. "Flag a hateful post, sign a petition, attend a service, make a comment in city council," he said. Soliman appeared in court virtually on Monday. He has yet to enter a plea. He'll return to court Thursday on the state charges.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
As a Rabbi, I know Jewish people are under attack. Too many still look away.
Sunday evening, I led my community as we celebrated the beginning of Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating the Israelites' receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. It's a lovely holiday − one of my favorites − which includes late-night study sessions and traditional dairy treats (enjoyed because the Israelites abstained from meat before the great theophany). In the back of my mind all evening was dark knowledge: that events were still unfolding in Boulder, Colorado, around an antisemitic attack. It was there that members of the Jewish community, peacefully demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages held for over 600 days, were set ablaze. The alleged attacker, an Egyptian man, yelled "Free Palestine!" as he threw Molotov cocktails and wielded a flamethrower at elderly Jews, injuring eight, including one Holocaust survivor. There are a lot of things that are dispiriting to Jews at this moment. More: 'Horrifying' Boulder attack comes amid rise in antisemitic crimes, Gaza tensions The ignorance is certainly bad. For years, we have been shouting for all who will listen that phrases like "globalize the intifada" lead us inexorably in one clear direction − toward acts of violence against Jews worldwide. I grimly wonder, as do many of my peers, if Israel's fiercest critics will ever be ready to hear this message. Fewer than 60 days after a Jewish governor's mansion was firebombed, less than two weeks after peace-activist Israeli-embassy staffers were gunned down in Washington, D.C., and now after this latest calamity, will people believe Jews when we say that such phrases have tangible, dangerous consequences? Or, instead, will they opt to think that these are just the "bad apples" who merit condemnation but couldn't possibly be part of a trend, or are simply the deserved consequence to Jews worldwide for complaints about Israel's government? The fear is bad, too. There is debate within the Jewish community about whether our concerns are overblown − after all, we are more likely, say, to be in a car crash than the victim of a violent antisemitic attack. And yet, the numbers don't lie: In 2023, the FBI reported that nearly 70% of religion-based hate crimes targeted Jews, even though Jews make up only about 2% of the U.S. population. Jews move about the world ever-cognizant of this reality, and it weighs most of us down. Opinion: Amid ongoing attacks, Jewish people are afraid. Is anyone listening? You might think about the Jewish experience of fear this way: You'll virtually never enter any Jewish facility or event without a security presence. In my childhood, when I spent many afternoons and late evenings at my Temple in Atlanta, I often passed time with our friendly security guard, Michael. Michael, of blessed memory, was a kind, older man who happily tolerated Jewish kids like me "hanging out" with him. He was a mensch for humoring us. Only as an adult did I realize how perverse the situation was: Michael's entire presence was a persistent reminder of the fact that even as a Jewish child, I was already unsafe. I suppose we learned that lesson well down in Atlanta, where one of our synagogues had been bombed just a few decades prior. What weighs heaviest on many Jews right now, though, is the silence. For a while, the silence has been killing us on the inside; now, it seems, it's time again (since this is a pattern of Jewish history) for the silence to begin killing us on the outside too. The news covered the Boulder attack plenty. My social media feed, which includes many Jews, was littered with post after post about it. However, I heard from only a very few non-Jewish friends. This was the same after the attack in D.C., the one in Pennsylvania, and all the others that have taken place in recent years. We get it: Israel complicates things. However, our lives here in the United States should be worth protecting. When Wadea al-Fayoume was murdered at the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Jews, rightfully, were disgusted, and many condemned the horrifying barbarity. Now, it seems, there is limited appetite among Israel's critics to stand up and say that reciprocal violence against the Jewish community is unacceptable. I sincerely hope this changes. More: Who is Mohamed Soliman? Boulder terror suspect was denied gun due to overstayed visa Most Jews are not looking for people to see this incident and suddenly decide they support Israel. This isn't a sport, and we're not trying to recruit teammates. We just want people to acknowledge the attacks against us, the pain they bring our community, and to do so without "both-siding" them. It feels especially timely to recall words from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of the UK, who spoke to the House of Lords in 2018. As he said then, "Antisemitism is the hardest of all hatreds to defeat because, like a virus, it mutates, but one thing stays the same. Jews, whether as a religion or a race or as the State of Israel, are made the scapegoat for problems for which all sides are responsible. That is how the road to tragedy begins." To many Jews, it certainly feels like we are well on our way down the road to tragedy. We could use your help avoiding stops at some of its more grotesque historical destinations; however, at the least, we'd take your compassion and support as we weather this latest storm. Ari Jun is senior rabbi of Cincinnati's Temple Sholom. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Colorado attack on Jews is part of sickening routine | Opinion
