The New York Times reports today that “pressure continued to mount on Tuesday for the resignation or removal” of Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, the City University of New York (CUNY) trustee who attempted to nix Tony Kushner’s honorary degree.
But there’s a big roadblock in the way: right-wing Israel advocates who pour money into CUNY are warning against any move to remove Wiesenfeld. The Times:
One of CUNY’s biggest donors, Larry Field, a real estate developer in Los Angeles, also criticized the notion. Mr. Field, who gave $30 million to Baruch over the past decade, said he strongly agreed with Mr. Wiesenfeld on Israel, though he also supported the Kushner degree. “I would make a bigger stink over that,” he said, referring to Mr. Wiesenfeld’s possible departure.
No doubt there’s more donors that share Field’s view.
Alex Kane, a freelance journalist based in New York City, writes on Israel/Palestine and Islamophobia at alexbkane.wordpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.
