A top Long Island pol is calling for the resignation of the president of local Hofstra University, claiming she failed in a statement to be “clear and strong in her condemnation of Hamas without equivocation.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who used to teach business law at the school, recently fired off a letter to the Long Island university’s Board of Trustees, saying President Susan Poser issued a “callous and unconscionable statement’’ on the Israel-Hamas war to the college’s community last month, according to Fox News Digital.
Poser had written that she wanted to “acknowledge the emails and comments that I and other administrators have received since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th.
“That event, Israel’s response, and the ongoing conflict are taking the lives of thousands of people, with no end in sight. We mourn the loss of life in Israel and Gaza, which is deeply affecting many members of our community,” she said.
“There is a complex history and conflicting views about the causal underpinnings of the current crisis. This is one of the reasons that lasting peace in that part of the world has been so elusive and contested. But what is not contested is the tragic loss of life of innocent Israelis, Palestinians, and many others,’’ Poser wrote.
She added that Hofstra would hold a “Vigil for Peace” that night.
“Hofstra will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on religion or national origin,’’ the university president said. “We continue to work with local and federal law enforcement to monitor risk and ensure that our campus is safe.’’
Blakeman wrote in his letter that Poser had found “moral equivalence between Hamas’ terrorist slaughter of innocent women and children with the contested political agenda of the Palestinian people.
“This was not a time for fence sitting and handwringing. Dr. Poser should have been clear and strong in her condemnation of Hamas without equivocation,’’ Blakeman said.
Hofstra University fired back in a statement Monday, “The Hofstra Board of Trustees reaffirms its previous rejection of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s effort to undermine President Susan Poser, and the Board affirms its complete confidence in her leadership of Hofstra University.
“The fact is that on October 9, 2023, President Poser publicly condemned the “horrific and brutal
attack by Hamas on Israel” and the “unspeakable, organized violence and hostage-taking
against men, women, and children” in a message to the Hofstra community,” the school said.
“President Poser – a first-generation Jewish American whose parents escaped Europe and the Nazis – was among the first university presidents to message their campus community to show support and to
provide resources for the entire Hofstra community that has been deeply affected by the war.”
Blakeman’s call for Poser’s resignation comes during a major fight between the county executive and Hofstra over the siting of a casino.
Earlier this year, Hostra sued Nassau County officials for approving a lease for a $4 billion plan for Sands to operate a casino at the Nassau Coliseum — next to the university — and testified against it at a public hearing.
A state judge Nov. 9 sided with Hofstra, ruling Nassau officials short-circuited the open-meetings and environmental laws before voting.
Blakeman, a booster of the casino project, sent the first letter calling for Poster’s ouster Oct. 31, before the court ruling but during the ongoing legal and political spat with Hofstra.
https://nypost.com/2023/11/27/metro/top-li-pol-demands-resignation-of-hofstra-prez-over-israel-hamas-statement-callous-and-unconscionable/
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