Records reveal Cuny investments in weapons firms supplying Israel

Records reveal Cuny investments in weapons firms supplying Israel Submitted by Azad Essa on Tue, 09/08/2026 - 20:40 City University of New York becomes one of a very small number of American universities to publicly disclose investments in defence companies operating with Israel Pro-Palestinian supporters hold signs during demonstrations at the City College of New York as the NYPD cracks down on protest camps at both Columbia University and CCNY, on 30 April 2024 in New York City (Spencer Platt/AFP) Off The City University of New York (Cuny) invested over $715,000 in weapons manufacturers supplying the Israeli military, financial records obtained by pro- Palestine campaigners have revealed.

The records obtained by pro-Palestine groups at the largest public university in the US show that the institution's investment portfolio includes holdings in several weapons companies - including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Palantir, Elbit Systems, and General Dynamics - all of which have supplied weapons or military technology to the Israeli army.

In doing so, Cuny becomes one of a very small number of American universities to publicly disclose investments in defence companies operating with Israel.

The revelations prove that the university is complicit in the US-supported Israeli genocide in Gaza, Cuny4Palestine and Cuny Law Students for Justice in Palestine (Cuny Law SJP) said in a statement on Wednesday.

More than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured, and the Gaza Strip has been left in ruins, following Israel's war since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

"CUNY is therefore directly complicit in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, the imperialist violence targeting West Asia and the Global South more broadly, and the fascist violence inflicted upon migrants by U.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)," a Cuny faculty organiser said in a statement issued by the two groups on Wednesday.

On Wednesday afternoon, campaigners are expected to hold a press conference outside City Hall to publicly discuss details of the disclosures.

The encampments The disclosures come after years of organising and mobilisation at Cuny.

Students and faculty at Cuny were among the earliest to launch an encampment in April 2024, following Columbia University's lead, to demand that the university "disclose and divest" from defence contractors said to be supplying military products and services to the Israeli army.

Though ties and partnerships between academia and the defence sector have long operated as an open secret in the US, universities have typically kept details of their investments out of the public eye.

Columbia University, Cuny most 'hostile' campuses for Muslims: Cair Read More » In 2024, as the genocide in the Gaza Strip unfolded, Cuny4Palestine and Cuny Law SJP filed a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request urging administrators to provide a transparent account of the university's investments in defence firms.

When the university refused to provide the details in 2024, activists filed a lawsuit - Sarah Southey v. City University of New York - demanding that Cuny disclose the extent of its investments.

As part of a settlement reached between the two parties in mid-August, the university was required to disclose its investment records dating back to July 2023.

“While we’re grateful that the largest, urban public university in the country will finally disclose its investment records, it is outrageous that our client had to file this lawsuit in the first place,” Veronica Salama, senior staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

Activists said that the figures displayed in Cuny's records were even higher than anticipated.

According to campaigners, the university's 2025 holdings report showed that Cuny held $212,407.10 in unsecured Boeing stocks, $107,488.89 in Boeing common stock, and $65,302.74 in Lockheed Martin stock.

Both companies have signed arms deals worth millions of dollars with Israel.

Activists noted that Boeing is implicated in the ongoing wars in Iran and the bombings of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip through its manufacture of F-15 fighter jets, Apache AH-64 attack helicopters, and the notorious bunker-buster bombs.

"Apache helicopters were also used in the illegal invasion of Venezuela and the hostage-taking of President Nicolas Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores on January 3, 2026," the statement said.

The activists also noted that Cuny held stocks in Raytheon, valued at $141,201.34, as well as in Palantir, amounting to $189,348.48.

Activists said that Palantir continues to provide technology to the Israeli military, while Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon manufacture aircraft, missiles and munitions used by Israeli forces.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg!

As we declared during CUNY's Gaza Solidarity Encampment: we will not stop, we will not rest until our tax and tuition dollars are divested from death and destruction and reinvested in life-sustaining institutions and practices!

" We demand CUNY live up to its name as a 'People's University'!

" Police look on during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Cuny as the NYPD cracks down on protest camps at both Columbia University and CCNY on April 30 (Spencer Platt/AFP) While pro-Palestine encampments at Columbia University, Harvard University and Princeton University drew national and international attention, Cuny’s protest movement received far less coverage.

But its importance to the city’s social and political fabric was no less - and perhaps even greater - given Cuny's place as the university of working-class students from across New York.

The Encampments: A portrait of a protest for Palestine that moved America Read More » The disclosures, then, are likely to turn a spotlight on the crackdown on protesters at Cuny and potential political interference in subverting student and faculty demands for more transparency on what is ultimately a taxpayer-funded university.

They are also likely to draw attention to Cuny's leadership, which rubber-stamped the investments and those who enforced its decisions.

William C Thompson, Cuny’s current chair of the board executive committee and subcommittee on investment, has held the position since 2016.

Thompson was reappointed to a six-year term in June 2023 by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a staunch supporter of Israel.

Activists said they would be using the information to step up efforts to secure divestment from the companies. Cuny did not immediately respond to Middle East Eye's request for comment.

Academic Freedom News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0