On July 15, at a congressional hearing, New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik subjected CUNY’s chancellor, Félix Matos Rodríguez, to a humiliating round of questions about the alleged views of the CUNY faculty and staff. The chancellor, unfortunately, did little to defend the people at CUNY who work to make the institution what it is. Instead, he ritually intoned the need to fight antisemitism. When asked about specific people and institutions at CUNY, he deflected, feigned ignorance, or threw his employees under the bus.

I particularly remember one moment of the exchange between Stefanik and the chancellor (start at 4:45).

Stefanik: Are you familiar with CUNY CLEAR? This is the clinical arm of CUNY School of Law.

Rodríguez: CUNY CLEAR. I’m not familiar with them.

Stefanik: Well, I will remind you that CUNY CLEAR founder and professor is the head of Mahmoud Khalil’s Legal Defense Fund. Are you aware of that?

Rodríguez: No.

Stefanik: Does it concern you that New York taxpayers are paying the salary for the Legal Defense Fund of Mahmoud Khalil, and I’ll remind you who Mahmoud Khalil is: This is the chief pro-Hamas agitator that led to the antisemitic encampments at Columbia, the rioting and violent takeover of Hamilton Hall, the harassment and physical assault of Jewish students.

Rodríguez: And we do not condone any kind of antisemitism.

Stefanik: You allow the head of the clinical legal organization and a professor to be the chief legal aide to Mahmoud Khalil and do his legal defense fund?

Rodríguez: Those decisions are made in the clinics and are made in the individual campuses.

Stefanik: It goes up to you. You are the Chancellor.

Rodríguez: Those decisions are made…

Stefanik: You take no responsibility?

Rodríguez: I take responsibility for any behavior of our faculty…

Stefanik: So, is this acceptable? Is this acceptable?

Rodríguez: Any behavior that is antisemitic…

Stefanik: Is it acceptable that the legal defense fund for Mahmoud Khalil is the head of CUNY CLEAR. That’s acceptable under your watch?

Rodríguez: We have no tolerance for antisemitism on our campuses…

Stefanik: So, will this person be fired?

Rodríguez: Anybody that breaks our rules and our policies, there’ll be an investigation. We will investigate, and if there’s any disciplinary action that could be taken, we will take it.

Stefanik: Let me make a prediction: No disciplinary action. This individual is not going to be fired because it’s all words, no action. You have failed the people of New York. You have failed Jewish students in New York State, and it is a disgrace.

Why was the chancellor so timid? Why was Stefanik so emboldened? Why didn’t the chancellor put up any kind of defense of CUNY CLEAR and its founding director, Ramzi Kassem?

CUNY CLEAR, after all, has been the recipient of major gifts from even more major philanthropists, gifts and philanthropists CUNY has been only too happy to tout. Kassem, for his part, has been a senior adviser in the Biden White House, has argued cases before the Supreme Court, and has taken on what many consider to be one of the most important and fundamental civil liberties cases of our time. Both Kassen and CUNY CLEAR, in other words, have the kind of profile that CUNY holds dear.

Well, at the time, remember, Stefanik had her own profile and plans. She already had launched to fame grilling other university leaders over the alleged antisemitism on their campuses. She also was planning a run for governor of New York. Many feared she might win, and having won, would rain terror upon CUNY. The chancellor felt the heat and fled the kitchen.

That was July. Fast-forward a few months. And a few headlines.

On November 4, this happened.

On December 19, this happened.

And today, December 30, this happened.