CUNY Palestine Protesters Vow to Continue Fighting Felony Charges

On April 30, the NYPD made national headlines when it raided and shut down Columbia’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Later the same night, with much less media attention, the police moved in droves 20 blocks further north to the CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the City College of New York (CCNY) campus, where they brutally attacked demonstrators, arresting over 170 people. Following the mass arrests, 28 protesters were hit with felony charges. More than four months later, eight of the CUNY 28 have refused deals with the DA’s office in resistance to the state’s attempts to repress the militant elements of the pro-Palestine movement. For more,  see Adrita Talukder’s coverage below. 

Other News: Judith Mahoney Pasternak looks back on the life of Michael Lerner, the influential rabbi and publisher of Tikkun magazine who urged Jews to reconnect with their spiritual traditions while remaining unflinching in his support for Palestinian self-determination.

Hed: CUNY Palestine Protesters Vow to Continue Fighting Felony Charges

By Adrita Talukder

On April 30, the NYPD made national headlines when it raided and shut down Columbia’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Later the same night, with much less media attention, the police moved in droves 20 blocks further north to the CUNY Gaza Solidarity Encampment at the City College of New York (CCNY) campus, where they brutally attacked demonstrators, arresting over 170 people. Following the mass arrests, 28 protesters were hit with felony charges. 

Of the 28 hit with felony charges, nine have received full dismissals, five have taken plea deals, six who were belatedly identified are being tried separately, and the final eight are refusing any plea deals, taking their cases to trial. 

The eight of the CUNY 28 who have refused plea deals with the District Attorney’s office had their second arraignment at 100 Centre St. on Tuesday. They pleaded not guilty to the charges of third-degree felony burglary, and their trial has been postponed to Dec. 16.

In advance of Tuesday’s arraignment, the CUNY students held a press conference. 

“We’re fighting our charges not only because we do not recognize the state’s claim to authority over our actions, but also because we believe that challenging these charges is a necessary stand against an unjust system that seeks to silence dissent and criminalize resistance,” the CUNY 28 said. We’re not just fighting for a free Palestine, but for the liberation of all. We fight for ourselves and our communities.”

On April 25 hundreds of students raised the Palestinian flag on the CCNY campus and set up an encampment, making five demands of CUNY: divest and disclose all investments in the zionist occupation of Palestine, enact an academic boycott of Israel, protect CUNY students and faculty who’ve expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle, demilitarize CUNY — remove the NYPD and members of the Israeli military from CUNY’s campuses and end collaboration with the ROTC, CIA and Homeland Security — and reinvest into a People’s CUNY. 

“The CUNY 28 attempted to answer the call made by the steadfast Palestinian resistance: to escalate from within the belly of the beast,” a speaker for the 28 said on Tuesday. 

In the early evening of April 30, protesters had begun to occupy the Howard E. Wille Administration building on CCNY’s campus, responding to a call made by Columbia and Yale encampment participants to occupy further buildings in order to win student demands. 

After occupying the administrative building, protesters were pepper sprayed, and the police kettled the encampment. The NYPD and Strategic Response Group cops employed tasers and beat protesters with batons, resulting in broken bones and teeth, a response that the CUNY 28 say was even more violent than the Columbia raid.

“Anyone that chooses to play the role of a pig is the enemy,” the CUNY 28 said. “Since the violent escalation by CUNY and the pigs, all 22 were charged with third-degree felony burglary, a clear representation of state repression against those of us who choose to act against genocide.” 

• • •

On June 20 at their first court appearance, the Hind’s Hall 46 from Columbia rejected plea deals with the District Attorney’s office, stating that in solidarity with the CUNY 22 facing felony charges its members would present a “united front against state repression.” 

“We refuse to abandon our co-defendants or to tacitly endorse the state’s definitions of ‘legitimate’ and ‘illegitimate’ protest, while the same state perpetrates a genocide,” the Hind’s Hall 46 said in a press conference following their court appearance. 

While the 46 at Columbia were charged with criminal trespassing, a Class B misdemeanor, the CUNY 28 have been charged with burglary in the third degree, a Class D felony charge. The discrepancies in these charges underscore the dynamics between Columbia — a predominately white, private Ivy League institution — and CUNY, a predominately Black, brown, immigrant and working-class public university. 

“We know that the racialized working class is the core of our struggle,” the CUNY 28 wrote to The Indypendent. “We want to foremost acknowledge and recognize that we live in a settler colony; Indigenous and Black communities have and will always lead our struggles.” 

Those who’ve directly challenged the U.S. security state are facing its counterattacks, from the Cop City 61 — who’ve been hit with racketeering charges for their alleged involvement in actions taken against the construction of a multi-million police training facility in a forestoutside of Atlanta — to the felony charges pursued against the Merrimack 4, who in November protested an Elbit Systems factory in New Hampshire. 

Mayor Eric Adams sought to justify the NYPD’s CCNY raids, claiming that “outside agitators” had “co-opted” university protests.

The notion of “outside agitators” in the movement for a free Palestine has come under criticism by groups across the country who argue that people identified as such are simply those who act in opposition to the state and its imperial interests.

“The narrative of ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’ protester is a narrative pushed by the state to divide our efforts along class and racial contentions,” the CUNY 28 said. “But in reality, the fight against the same enemy unites us.” 

As the CUNY 28 await the final decision on their case, they have a message they’d like to leave with the movement at large: 

“We insist on studying the history and continued resistance of political prisoners and the revolutionaries of the world,” the group shared with The Indy.“Organize your local communities, understand the history of the land you live on and the continued resistance of Black and Indigenous people in your neighborhood. We urge anyone who considers themselves a part of the movement to escalate within your immediate community. Reveal the spiderwebs the [Zionist] entity laid and burn them.” 

A full transcript of the CUNY 28’s press-conference statement can be found here.

Indypendent News Hour Update

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On this week’s edition of The Indypendent News Hour on WBAI-99.5 FM, John Tarleton and Ariana Orozco spoke with two traveling peace activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli – who have lived on the frontlines of the conflict for decades and who believe peaceful co-existence with equal rights for all is still possible in Palestine/Israel. We also had a fascinating conversation with two instructors from the Strother School of Radical Attention which is helping people step back from their electronic devices and relearn how to become fully present in the world around them. For the full show link, click here. We will be back on the air next Tuesday from 5-6 pm on 99.5 FM and streaming on wbai.org.

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