CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies official resigns after endorsing anti-Israel conspiracy theories
An official connected to the City University of New York (CUNY) has resigned his position after being accused of spreading anti-Semitism through statements he made online.
The official, Arthur Cheliotes, was previously the board chairman of CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies.
An official connected to the City University of New York (CUNY) has resigned his position after being accused of spreading anti-Semitism through statements he made online.
The official, Arthur Cheliotes, was previously the board chairman of CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies, as noted by The New York Post.
Cheliotes’ controversial statements include calling Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack a “pretext” for Israel to invade Gaza, and making comparisons between Adolf Hitler and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.
On May 26, Cheliotes reposted a graphic about Hamas’ attack saying that Israel gave the group $200 million and pulled troops from the Gaza border shortly before the incursion, potentially insinuating that the Israeli government wanted the attack to happen.
The graphic also accuses the Israeli government of moving “bodies” to the Nova music festival and deleting border surveillance footage.
“The outrageous comments endorsed by Arthur Cheliotes, who leads an independent 501(c)3 organization that is not governed by the CUNY Administration, promote dangerous antisemitic conspiracies that have no place in CUNY or anywhere else,” CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos-Rodriguez reportedly said in a statement on May 2. “He needs to step down immediately.”
Cheliotes ultimately resigned his position shortly after, according to The New York Post.
According to a biography online, Cheliotes is a member of the Democratic Party and is an elected labor leader of the New York City Government. He is also the president of a chapter of Communications Workers-America (CWA), a labor union based in New York City.
Campus Reform reported in May about a pro-Palestine demonstration at CUNY’s Brooklyn College during which anti-Israel activists fought with police officers. After multiple warnings from law enforcement officials, 14 of the activists were arrested.
Earlier this year, CUNY Professor Peter Beinart refused to refer to Hamas as a “terrorist” organization, saying that he believed that the term “has become racist.” Beinart asserted that he preferred to use terms that were more “neutral.”
Campus Reform has contacted the City University of New York for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
