Zohran Mamdani urges boycott of Cornell school with ties to Israel
'There are ways to make what seems to be an international battle into a local one,' the Democratic socialist said on a 'Talking Palestine' podcast with Sumaya Awad shortly after getting elected to the state assembly in 2020.
'If you were to look at the lens of BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] and how it applies here in New York City, you would say that Cornell-Technion is something you would be talking about,' Mamdani said of the Roosevelt Island college, which is partnered with Technion University in Israel and is also referred to as the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute.
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3 Far-left mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has said Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island should be boycotted because of its partnership with an Israel-based school.
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'Technion University is an Israeli University that has helped to develop a lot of weapons technology used by the IDF [Israel Defense Force],' said Mamdani, as he voiced support for economic boycotts against Israel.
Mamdani — who also recounted how he co-founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Bowdoin College when he attended the school — said a boycott campaign would scrutinize any government funds that Cornell-Technion received.
'I'm sure that if we look close enough, there are either municipal subsidies or state subsidies granted to a project such as this on Roosevelt Island,' Mamdani said.
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The Roosevelt venture is a pet project of former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who conducted a worldwide competitive bidding process to operate the sciences and engineering campus.
Cornell won the bid and opened the joint campus in September 2017, paving the way for such things as shared programs and professors.
3 Mamdani said a boycott campaign would scrutinize any government funds that Cornell-Technion received.
picture alliance via Getty Images
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A former Bloomberg staffer told The Post it's outrageous that Mamdani would push going after Cornell's partnership with Technion.
'Zohran Mamdani spends his days attacking Donald Trump, but it seems he's really a fanboy,' said Mark Botnick, former City Hall aide during Bloomberg's mayoralty.
'His call to defund Cornell Tech over its ties to the Technion is a page straight out of the Trump playbook,' said Botnick — as the president targets Harvard and other universities over policies he opposes.
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'If Mamdani is so eager to sever connections with Israeli institutions, is he also planning to boycott and deny New Yorkers' access to the myriad of lifesaving treatments and technologies developed by Israeli institutions?' the former Bloomberg aide said.
'Given his blatant antisemitism, he just might.'
Other boosters of Cornell Tech also rapped Mamdani's targeting of the campus for a boycott.
'It is frightening to think that a mayoral candidate could be either so naive or so bigoted that they would question public funding for a school that has contributed so much to the growth of our city's technology sector because it is a partnership with the legendary Technion Institute of Israel,' said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City.
Wylde served on the advisory committee that helped bring the Cornell Tech campus to Roosevelt Island.
3 'Technion University is an Israeli University that has helped to develop a lot of weapons technology used by the IDF [Israel Defense Force],' said Mamdani.
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Mamdani, 33, who is running second in the Democratic mayoral primary to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is a Palestinian rights activist and a staunch foe of Israel.
Last week, during and after a mayoral debate, he refused to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.
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A Mamdani campaign rep did not dispute the candidate's comments eyeing a boycott of Cornell over its Israel ties.
'Zohran has been clear and consistent: his focus is lowering the cost of living and delivering a safer city for every single New Yorker. That's what this campaign has been about and it is how he will govern as mayor,' the Mamdani spokesman Told the Post.
Early voting for the June 24 mayoral primary begins this Saturday, June 14.
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