Amplifying: Immediately Reinstate CUNY Adjunct Faculty Terminated for Standing with Palestinians
Editor’s Note: Of course we agree with the stance of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union. NJ and Rutgers University and all of NJ’s colleges are in grave danger in 2025 because Democrats of NJ are supporting the fascist IHRA narrative of the Trump Administration. As Rubio announces a plan to investigate 55 million visa holders for their pro-Palestine views and revoke status for anyone who is pro-Palestinian – NJ Democratic candidate for governor Mikie Sherrill helps and is united with her Republican contender Jack Ciatarelli and the Trump administration in support of IHRA fascism in NJ. Also the majority of Democratic Party assembly candidates are either incumbents who support the fascist proposed bills or candidates who are silent or support the bills. There are some notable exceptions but it is clear that the Democrats in NJ are united with Trump to bring fascism to NJ.
FightBackBetter appeals to the rank and file democrats in NJ who are concerned about the outcome of the 2025 elections to urge your party to TABLE IHRA in the NJ legislature until after the November elections. Approval of IHRA now will necessitate an aggressive effort to encourage non-participation in contests where there is no free speech candidate and only votes for candidates that publicly state their free speech and anti-IHRA positions in their platforms.
Some supporters of Mikie Sherrill have adopted the tactic of SMEARING supporters of free speech and the right to say FREE PALESTINE! in NJ as “single issue” voters. It is discouraging that they can not understand the need to oppose legal harm based upom our free speech in NJ. I wonder if the proposed law was calling for us to be shot – as opposed to “merely” bringing us legal harm – we would still be indignified with this smearing accusation. We are apparently being selfish politcally by insisting that we continue to have free speech rights to say FREE PALESTINE. I am suggesting that it is a bad look for Sherrill supporters to attack critics on the free speech issue instead of understanding and looking for solutions – like telling the Democrats to go back into recess on the IHRA fascist laws proposed and hold off until at least after November elections!
Immediately Reinstate CUNY Adjunct Faculty Terminated for Standing with Palestinians
Statement of Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union
The Executive Board of the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union voted on Monday, August 25, 2025 to endorse the following statement.
The Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union Executive Board condemns the recent non-reappointment of three adjunct faculty members and termination of a fourth at the City University of New York (CUNY), in what clearly appears to be retaliation for their public opposition to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Palestine.
These dismissals, carried out in direct contradiction to unanimous departmental recommendations and without any due process, not only constitute a grave violation of academic freedom and a dangerous encroachment on faculty governance; they are also another chilling example of the campaign to target—through suspensions, firings, and other disciplinary measures—students and workers who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“Let’s be clear,” said Corinna Mullen, one of the four adjuncts, “our firings had nothing to do with our job performance or our teaching records. The [PSC-CUNY faculty and staff union] has warned that this has ‘all the appearances of an ideological purge,’ echoing the shameful McCarthy-era attacks on CUNY faculty in the 1950s. That history is repeating itself.”
The terminations at CUNY are part of a broader assault on higher education. For the Trump administration and its bipartisan allies, universities are “lost territory” to be reconquered and purged of all “deviant” writing, speech, and curriculum.
Instead of obediently falling into lockstep with this agenda, as other universities have been doing, CUNY should defend the rights of its educators and students whose opposition to genocide and the ongoing Nakba is being smeared as antisemitic.
The City University of New York faces a critical choice: it can either continue to align with the forces of authoritarianism and political repression, or it can recommit to its identity as a people’s university dedicated to justice, academic freedom, and critical inquiry.
We join with others calling on the CUNY administration to:
- Immediately reinstate all four faculty members and restore their rights as educators and members of the CUNY community.
- Issue a public apology for the emotional and material harm caused by the firings, and provide a full and transparent explanation of the decision-making process behind these terminations, including who made the final call and under what justification.
- Uphold the First Amendment rights of all members of the CUNY community and end CUNY’s complicity with the McCarthyite repression of CUNY students and workers who express public support for Palestine.
As contingent workers, adjunct faculty are often the first to be targeted—but they will not be the last. In firing these four adjunct faculty members, CUNY administration is not just targeting individual educators, but sending a clear message to all that dissent and academic freedom have no place at CUNY. With this in mind, we strongly urge other academic unions and faculty organizations concerned with the protection of academic freedom to demand that CUNY submit to an independent inquiry into this matter.
To send a union-sponorsed letter to CUNY administrators demanding the adjuncts be reinstated, click here.
