Rep. Jerry Nadler, state Sen. Liz Krueger silent as Mamdani entertains Cornell Tech boycott
The NYC mayoral front-runner has said that, if elected mayor, he may displace the campus, a joint project of Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, from Roosevelt Island
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
A view of Tata Innovation Center at the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island on July 23, 2022 in New York City. Cornell Tech is joint academic venture between Cornell and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleIf elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani has said he would reassess the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, potentially kicking the joint Cornell Tech campus out of its home on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
But two Jewish Mamdani backers who represent Roosevelt Island and have supported the project have been silent about his plans.
Cornell and Technion were selected by city officials under Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2010 to build the campus on city-owned land and received $100 million in other incentives. It opened in 2017.
Mamdani’s campaign told The New York Times and Ynet that he would reassess the partnership if elected. As mayor, Mamdani would have the authority to appoint new members to Roosevelt Island’s governing board, giving him influence over management of the island.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and state Sen. Liz Krueger, both of whom have been supporters of Mamdani, as well as active backers of the Cornell Tech campus, did not respond to requests for comment. Both have appointees on the community task force that supported the construction of the campus, which is within their districts.
Mamdani called for a boycott of the campus shortly after being elected to the state Senate in 2020, and said that “Technion University is an Israeli University that has helped to develop a lot of weapons technology used by the IDF” and that the campus should be assessed through “the lens of BDS” — the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign targeting Israel — according to the New York Post.
Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on his stance or plans for the campus.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Mamdani’s plans were “terrible.”
“It smacks of an academic boycott of a respected Israeli university,” Shapiro said. “It also is a great way to drive innovation jobs out of the city. Both wrong in principle and self-defeating in practice.”
Mamdani is also expected to attempt to block further investment in Israel bonds in the city’s pension fund and has said he would shut down the New York City-Israel Economic Council launched by Mayor Eric Adams.