The Lawfare Project and Co-Counsel Alston & Bird join U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee Hearing on Antisemitism
The Lawfare Project and co-counsel Alston & Bird attended the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s hearing on antisemitism in higher education to help inform congressional members of the crisis of Jew-hatred at the City University of New York (CUNY).
The visit follows a lawsuit filed in December 2024 by The Lawfare Project and its legal partners on behalf of Dr. Leah Garrett, Chair of Jewish Studies at CUNY Hunter College. The suit alleges a deeply entrenched, hostile, and discriminatory environment for Jewish faculty and students at the institution. For example:
Jewish students and faculty were denied the right to celebrate Hanukkah and light the menorah—only for the university to approve a 300-person Ramadan celebration just weeks later.
After swastikas were posted at the college entrance, Dr. Garrett was forced to plead with administrators for more than four hours before they reluctantly agreed to cover the hate symbols—claiming the matter was “not that simple.”
Dr. Garrett was forced to cancel Jewish Studies classes due to security concerns when the university refused to provide protection.
Following doxxing and repeated threats, numerous Jewish faculty removed their names from office doors and directories out of fear.
Despite urgent and repeated requests from Dr. Garrett to address the escalating danger, CUNY did nothing.
“I am thankful for the many members of Congress who worked with us to ensure that the deeply disturbing facts about antisemitism at CUNY were brought forward in this hearing,” said Ziporah Reich, Director of Litigation at The Lawfare Project. “While it is deeply frustrating to hear more platitudes and vague promises from CUNY’s leadership, we are encouraged to see federal lawmakers demanding accountability. The Lawfare Project and our co-counsel at Alston & Bird will continue to pursue our legal action, and we will not stop until real policy change—not just empty words—ensures safety and equality for the Jewish community on campus.”
As part of their advocacy, Reich, her co-counsel, and Dr. Garrett met in Washington with key lawmakers, including Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI), Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), and other members of the committee to provide critical context and documentation of CUNY’s failure to respond to antisemitism. They also worked closely with the office of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who during the hearing directly confronted the CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and how he “failed the Jewish people of New York.”
The Lawfare Project remains committed to using the law as a tool to protect Jewish civil rights and combat antisemitism in all forms.