Latest news with #Israel-bashing
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Rep. Elise Stefanik skewers CUNY chancellor, calls for his ouster over ‘failed' leadership on NYC campus antisemitism
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik skewered the head of CUNY — calling on him to resign for 'failing Jewish students' and for flunking his House testimony Tuesday on combating campus antisemitism. The Republican congresswoman zeroed in on Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez over the hiring of a chief diversity officer who previously worked for a pro-Hamas, Israel-bashing group — saying that if the CUNY boss doesn't step down, Gov. Kathy Hochul should bounce him. 'You have failed the people of New York. You have failed Jewish students in New York State, and it is a disgrace,' Stefanik — who is mulling a run for governor against Hochul next year — told the chancellor during the House Education & Workforce Committee hearing. Advertisement 7 Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questions the panel of witnesses during a House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee hearing on 'Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology' on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Washington. AP She grilled Matos Rodríguez about CUNY's hiring of Saly Abd Alla, who had previously been employed as a civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. 'I was not directly responsible for that hire,' Matos Rodríguez, who has overseen CUNY's 26 degree-granting institutions since 2019, insisted when asked if he was aware of Abd Alla's previous employer. Advertisement CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case involving the funneling over $12 million to Hamas, Stefanik noted. 'You hired Abd Alla as CUNY's chief diversity officer, and this role includes overseeing antisemitism complaints and initiatives. Were you aware at that time that this senior administrator that you hired was previously employed by CAIR?' Stefanik asked. Matos Rodríguez said Abd Alla was hired to be the chief diversity officer 'at the central office with no responsibility over cases that have to deal with students or faculty.' 7 Pro-Palestine demonstrators wave the Palestinian flag and hold a banner outside of the office of the City University of New York. Jimin Kim/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Advertisement 'Let me remind you, CAIR was a co-conspirator in the terrorist financing case and has ties to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,' Stefanik continued, adding, 'Is she currently still employed by CUNY?' 'She is,' Matos Rodríguez replied. 'So, no action, just words here today,' Stefanik said. Stefanik also asked Matos Rodríguez if he knew that law professor Ramzi Kassem, the head of CUNY Law School's legal clinic, Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility or CLEAR, was representing Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel Columbia University protester who was detained by the Trump administration. Advertisement 'CUNY CLEAR. I'm not familiar with them,' Matos Rodríguez said. 7 Stefanik also asked Matos Rodríguez if he knew that law professor Ramzi Kassem, the head of CUNY Law School's legal clinic. AP 'This is the chief pro-Hamas agitator that led to the antisemitic encampments at Columbia, the rioting and violent takeover of Hamilton Hall, the harassment and physical assault of Jewish students,' Stefanik said of Khalil. 'You allow the head of the clinical legal organization and a professor to be the chief legal aid to Mahmoud Khalil and do his legal defense fund?' Matos Rodríguez responded, 'Those decisions are made in the clinics and are made in the individual campuses.' In another case, Stefanik asked about delays in removing a swastika from the main building of CUNY's Hunter College campus on Manhattan's Upper East Side in the fall of 2023. 7 Protestors gather outside Brooklyn College during a âCUNY Wide Student Walkout for Palestineâ on Thursday, November 9, 2023 in Brooklyn, N.Y. James Keivom She displayed a Nov. 13, 2023 email apparently by Hunter's Interim Vice President for Administration Gustavo Ordonez telling Leah Garrett, the school's chair of Jewish Studies: 'Apologies, but it's not that simple.' Advertisement Garrett has since filed a federal workplace discrimination suit against CUNY. CUNY typically removes hateful symbols right away but there was a delay in doing so in this case because officials 'were working with the New York City Police Department' on a potential hate crime case, Matos Rodríguez told the panel. In a joint press conference after the hearing with Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov in DC, Stefanik said Matos Rodríguez had to go, and claimed Hochul was part of the problem. 7 Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questions the panel of witnesses during a House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee hearing on 'Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology' on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Washington. @RepStefanik/X Advertisement 'The scourge of antisemitism has skyrocketed on her watch,' Stefanik said of Hochul. 'She needs to call on this chancellor to resign. She needs to fire him today.' Vernikov agreed, telling reporters: 'With one phone call, she can make sure the chancellor gets removed.' 'We need competent leadership. The chancellor is unwilling and unable to address antisemitism and protect his Jewish students,' she said. Advertisement 7 Protestors gather outside Brooklyn College during a CUNY Wide Student Walkout for Palestine on Thursday, November 9, 2023 in Brooklyn, N.Y. James Keivom Hochul created a task force headed by former New York state chief judge Jonathan Lippman that issued recommendations last year to weed out campus antisemitism at CUNY. Matos Rodríguez is likely not going anywhere. He has strong support among CUNY's trustees, appointed by the governor and mayor. Overall, he defended CUNY's performance in tamping down antisemitism and said officials have learned from past mistakes. Advertisement 'Antisemitism has no place at CUNY,' he testified. 7 Dr. Félix Matos Rodríguez, Chancellor, The City University of New York, testifies during a House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee hearing. AP 'And although our response has not always been perfect, our commitment to this important work has never wavered. Our commitment to the safety of the members of our Jewish community, and to our entire community, is non-negotiable.' He noted the $3 million in vandalism caused by anti-Israel protestors who created an encampment at CUNY's City College last year. 'We learned from that experience. We now have a zero-tolerance policy against encampments,' Matos Rodríguez said, adding CUNY hired more than 150 full-time security employees and contracted with an additional 250 security personnel. 'Our approach has shown results,' he said.
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, Wall Street bigs snub Zohran Mamdani meeting
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and other Wall Street titans were planning to skip a widely anticipated Tuesday meeting with hard-left New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, The Post has learned. The 33-year-old socialist firebrand, who handily defeated Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary on June 24, was slated to attend meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday arranged by Partnership for NYC — a powerful group whose members include the city's biggest banks, law firms and corporations. But Dimon snubbed the Israel-bashing, Ugandan-born firebrand and his bid to schmooze with the city's business bigwigs and soothe their concerns. Advertisement 3 Mamdani has been making an outreach to NYC business bigwigs via renowned power broker Kathlyn Wylde. Andrew Schwartz / The 69-year-old Dimon — who branded Mamdani a 'Marxist' at an event in Ireland on Thursday — had an unspecified scheduling 'conflict,' accoridng to the bank. 'He had other commitments and was unable to attend,' a JPMorgan spokesperson told The Post. According to sources familiar with the matter, a number of other Wall Street hotshots stayed away, too — sending non-executive underlings in their place. Advertisement 'Everyone is just in listening mode,' joked one banking bigwig. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Bank of America's Brian Moynihan, and Citi boss Jane Fraser did not plan to take part, sources said. The insiders pointed to the firms' all having quarterly results coming out on Tuesday and Wednesday. BofA is headquartered in Charlotte, NC and, arguably, more shielded from any prospective Mamdani administration. Advertisement 3 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon lashed out at fellow Democrats over their obsession with DEI policies, labeling them 'idiots.' REUTERS The Democrat candidate wants to freeze rents and hike taxes to bankroll free childcare and free buses, as well as create government-run grocery stores to battle rising food prices. 'That's the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world,' Dimon told Thursday's conference organized by the Irish foreign ministry in Dublin. The long-serving chief executive also used the powwow to take pot shots at the Democratic Party. Advertisement Dimon, who has long been rumored to have political ambitions of his own and was once floated as a possible Treasury Secretary, slammed his fellow Democrats for their obsession with divisive DEI policies. 3 Insiders said BofA CEO Brian Moynihan is currently in Charlotte, North Carolina, to prepare for the bank's quarterly results on Wednesday. REUTERS 'I have a lot of friends who are Democrats, and they're idiots. I always say they have big hearts and little brains,' the plain-speaking banker told the audience in Dublin. 'They do not understand how the real world works. Almost every single policy rolled out failed.' Banking regulations have been a matter of concern for the JPMorgan CEO for years. In October, he lashed out at the Biden administration over its anti-business stance and used his annual shareholder letter in April to accuse its officials of stifling growth with 'blue tape.' Earlier this year, JPMorgan and several other Wall Street banks scrubbed DEI language from their websites soon after President Trump took office,
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
‘Jews for Zohran' Mamdani group tied to niece of lefty China-based billionaire
The niece of the China-based billionaire purportedly backing left-wing protest groups in the US spearheaded the 'Jews for Zohran'' Mamdani campaign — a bid to give the Israel-bashing candidate cover from antisemitism accusations and win over Jewish voters, The Post found. Marxist tycoon Neville 'Roy' Singham's niece Alicia Singham Goodwin serves as political director of lefty nonprofit Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, which in January launched Jews for Zohran. 'We, like, had our own voter file . . . and for phone banks that were only Jewish voters, and had, like, Jews talking to Jews,' Singham Goodwin, 33, said in a July 1 interview on WBAI. 'We developed early on these talking points about antisemitism and a way for volunteers to engage.' Advertisement Jews for Zohran is now working with city Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Jerry Nadler to persuade more Jewish pols — such as Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Dan Goldman — to back Mamdani for mayor. Former Queens Democratic City Councilman Rory Lancman called the effort 'frightening' given Mamdani's defense of the 'globalize the Intifada' slogan. 3 Alicia Singham Goodwin serves as political director of lefty nonprofit Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. Alicia Singham Goodwin/ X Advertisement 'The demonization of Israel leads to the demonization of Jews who support Israel, which is overwhelmingly the majority of Jews in the U.S.,' Lancman told The Post. 'Receiving the endorsement of Jewish elected officials represents a normalization of the demonization of Israel and the demonization of Jews that naturally flows from that.' Singham Goodwin's mom is Roy Singham's sister, Shanti Singham, who has her own Chinese ties: a department chair at state-controlled East China Normal University in Shanghai, she's promoted the country's Confucius Institutes in Africa. 3 The 'Jews for Zohran'' Mamdani campaign is a bid to give the Israel-bashing candidate cover from anti-Semitism accusations and win over Jewish voters. Getty Images Singham Goodwin's father, Daniel Goodwin, was longtime counsel and an executive at Roy Singham's software firm Thoughtworks. The couple donated $4,200 to Mamdani's campaign and super PAC from their luxury penthouse in Morningside Heights. Advertisement A leader in the NYC Democratic Socialists of America, Singham Goodwin's social media shows her posing with Mamdani and with her uncle's wife Jodie Evans, founder of the Singham-funded leftist group CodePink. 3 Jodie Evans and Neville Roy Singham Getty Images for V-Day Since the $785 million sale of Thoughtworks in 2017, Roy Singham has installed himself in Shanghai and bankrolled groups pushing Beijing's agenda. House Republicans have sought to question him over potential ties to groups involved in recent protests against immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. Neither Singham returned requests for comment.
New York Post
25-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Bill Ackman to back NYC Mayor Eric Adams' reelection bid: source
Bill Ackman is preparing to back Eric Adams' bid for reelection as New York City mayor — and is hoping that rival candidates will drop out to bolster the current mayor's chances against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, The Post has learned. The billionaire hedge fund titan — who had given $500,000 to Andrew Cuomo's fizzled run against Mamdani in the Democratic primary — is now gearing up to throw his weight behind Adams, according to a source close to the billionaire investor. 5 Ackman, who is reported to be worth a cool $9 billion according to Forbes, is set to throw his weight behind incumbent Eric Adams, who is running as an independent. AFP via Getty Images Likewise, Ackman is hoping that Cuomo and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa will bow out of the November election to allow Adams a clearer run against the 33-year-old hard-left firebrand Mamdani, who is backed by AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders. 'Bill thinks the only thing that works is for Adams to run and everyone else to drop out,' the source said. The insider, speaking to The Post on condition of anonymity, added that if Cuomo and Sliwa fail to end their campaigns it could create a 'difficult' path for Adams — potentially splitting moderate voters and handing victory to the Israel-bashing, Uganda-born Mamdani, who only became a US citizen in 2018. The Post has approached a spokesman for Ackman for comment. Other New York City business magnates who had backed Cuomo's failed primary run include former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, media mogul Barry Diller, hedge fund tycoon Daniel Loeb, cosmetics magnate William Lauder and Netflix founder Reed Hastings. 5 Fellow hedge fund titan Boaz Weinstein told The Post that he expected voters to flock to the polls in droves in a bid to block the hard-left Democratic nominee. REUTERS Boaz Weinstein, the billionaire boss of New York hedge fund Saba Capital, voiced optimism that Mamdani's 'shock' victory could lead to voters turning up in droves this November to ensure he is roundly defeated. 'I bet you that we get a record turnout,' said Weinstein, who made a fortune betting on JPMorgan trading losses in 2012. He pointed to the fact that Mamdani only secured 430,000 votes in a city where there are 4.7 million people who are eligible to cast ballots. Wall Street investor Whitney Tilson, who ran against Mamdani and Cuomo in the primary and picked up just under 1% of the vote, warned that New York's uber-rich could flee for tax-friendlier climes such as Florida if the self-styled Democratic Socialist wins in November, leading to a drop in investment. 'It would poison the business environment,' said the former Kase Capital supremo and longtime Dem donor. 'There are a lot of people on the edge right now. This would push them over.' 5 Whitney Tilson, the former candidate for the Democrat nomination, warned Mamdani would 'poison the business environment' in the Big Apple. AP Dan Loeb, the 63-year-old CEO of the Third Point hedge fund, wrote on X as New York sweltered amid record temperatures: 'It's officially hot commie summer.' Adams, elected as a Democrat in 2021, is now running as an independent bid after federal corruption charges were dropped by the DOJ in April 2025. Cuomo's plans on whether he might re-enter the race as an independent remain unclear, although The Post's Charlie Gasparino reported business leaders are hoping he will drop out. Guardian Angels founder Sliwa, meanwhile, told Gasparino he will not leave the Republican ticket. 'The only way I drop out is if I'm in a pine casket six feet under,' Sliwa said. 5 GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, said he would only stand down 'if he was six feet under.' Michael McWeeney Shares of New York regional bank Flagstar, which is heavily exposed to the city's real estate industry,. dropped by 6% in Wednesday trading on fears about Mamdani's vow to freeze rent increases in stabilized units during his campaign. Flagstar was formerly known as New York Community Bancorp and came under pressure in 2024 in part due to its real estate exposure. Deutsche Bank analyst Bernard von-Gizycki wrote in a note to clients that between $16 billion and $18 billion of the bank's multi-family loan portfolio would be exposed to New York rent regulations. He added that the figure represents roughly a quarter of the bank's total loan book. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, galvanized young, white, Asian, and Latino voters with a platform focused on affordability. 5 Former Governor Andrew Cuomo could still re-enter the race as an independent, further splitting the Democratic vote in the election. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post His signature pledges also include free city buses, universal child care, and city-owned grocery stores, funded by taxing the wealthy that will prompt fears of capital flights from the Big Apple to tax-friendly states such as Florida. Mamdani's campaign amassed over 50,000 volunteers and leveraged ranked-choice voting to secure 43.5% of first-round primary votes. If elected, he would be the city's first Muslim and South Asian mayor.
New York Post
09-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Leaders of CUNY, other college antisemitism hotbeds to be grilled by House panel next month
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez and two other college chiefs will be hauled before the House Education Committee next month to get grilled about the antisemitism that has festered at their schools. Rodríguez will join Georgetown University interim President Robert Groves and the University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons in testifying before the education panel July 9, officials said. The hearing will center around the role of 'faculty, funding and ideology' in fueling antisemitism on campuses and mark the second high-profile session the panel has had this year. The move comes after the panel's deep dive into antisemitism in non-Ivy League institutions last month. 'We continue to see antisemitic hatred festering at schools across the country,' said House Education Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) in a statement. 4 CUNY has been a hotbed of anti-Israel protests. Stephen Yang for NY Post 4 CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos is set to testify before the House Education Committee next month. 051525CUNYChancellor3wf 'While much of the discussion has focused on the devastating effects of antisemitism, this hearing will focus on the underlying factors instigating antisemitic upheaval and hatred on campus.' The City University of New York — the nation's largest public urban college system with 25 degree-granting institutions — has been dogged by complaints of antisemitism for years. An independent probe commissioned by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and released in September found that CUNY needed a top-to-bottom overhaul to combat 'alarming'' antisemitism fanned by its own faculty and do-nothing higher-ups. The state is the principal source of funding for CUNY's four-year schools, such as Hunter, and the Big Apple chips in to help pay for its community colleges. The governor and Mayor Eric Adams appoint the trustees to CUNY's policy-making board. There's been a spate of Jew-hating and Israel-bashing controversies since the latest Mideast war broke out Oct. 7, 2023. Just last week, The Post reported that the board chairman of CUNY's School of Labor and Urban Studies was forced to resign for spreading 'antisemitic conspiracy theories' about Israel. Anti-Israel agitators also brawled with cops at Brooklyn College last month after the protesters set up a tent encampment and disrupted final exams. An officer was forced to fire a Taser during the violent clash. 4 CUNY agitators have caused millions of dollars in damage. Anadolu via Getty Images In addition, last spring at City College in Harlem, anti-Israel criminals caused at least $3 million in damage and the need for costly extra security at the campus. Thus far, Rodriguez, first appointed in 2019, has weathered the storm. The board of trustees recently gave him a mostly positive job evaluation to continue leading the public university. Georgetown and Berkeley have faced similar issues amid anti-Israel demonstrations on campus. Last year, students and professors at Georgetown partook in a walkout to 'rally for Gaza' in demonstration against Israel's efforts to subdue the Palestinian terror group Hamas. In September, students gathered outside the building where the university president's office is located and chanted in favor of divesting from Israel. More recently, in April, the university's police were forced to pull multiple anti-Israel protesters out of a building after failing to heed demands to leave. Berkeley is meanwhile facing a lawsuit from Jewish groups accusing the university of allowing an 'unrelenting' slew of antisemitism to fester on campus. Infamously, the campus' chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine made an Instagram post that many interpreted as sounding sympathetic to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians. 'We support the resistance, we support the liberation movement, and we indisputably support the Uprising,' the group wrote shortly after the barbaric attack. Berkeley has been rife with anti-Israel protests since the inception of the war against Hamas. 4 House Education Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) is keen on complementing the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on antisemitism on campuses across the country. Getty Images Congressional Republicans on the education panel are hoping to dovetail with the Trump administration's broader efforts to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses. The Trump administration has withheld or threatened to withhold funding from colleges and universities that have not stepped up against antisemitism on campus. The Trump administration has also opened probes into antisemitism at several institutions of higher education. 'Until these factors—such as foreign funding and antisemitic student and faculty groups—are addressed, antisemitism will persist on college campuses,' Walberg wrote. 'Our Committee is building on its promise to protect Jewish students and faculty while many university leaders refuse to hold agitators of this bigotry, hatred, and discrimination accountable.'
