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New York Rep. Mike Lawler seeks to halt CUNY funding after ‘hate speech’
(New York Jewish Week) — Amid ongoing debate over a recent commencement speech at the City University of New York’s law school that included harsh criticism of Israel, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler has introduced legislation that would rescind federal funding from colleges that promote antisemitism.
Lawler, who represents New York’s 17th congressional district, introduced the “Stop Anti-Semitism on College Campuses” bill on Thursday. Lawler’s district includes Rockland County, which has a large population of Orthodox Jews.
“Many in the Jewish community in New York and across the country were outraged when a student spewed outrageous antisemitic rhetoric at CUNY Law School’s graduation in May,” Lawler said in a statement. “No college or university should receive a single dollar of federal education funding if they peddle in the promotion of antisemitism at an event on their campus.”
The bill would “prohibit institutions of higher education that authorize Anti-Semitic events on campus from participating in the student loan and grant programs” under Title IV of the 1956 Higher Education Act. It has eight cosponsors, all Republicans, including the chamber’s two Republican Jews, Tennessee’s David Kustoff and Ohio’s Max Miller.
The bill comes after a speech delivered on May 12 at the graduation ceremony of the CUNY School of Law in Queens, in which Fatima Mousa Mohammed praised the law school as a place where students could “speak out against Israeli settler colonialism.” She also called the New York Police Department “fascist” and encouraged “the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world.”
Pro-Israel advocates have long accused CUNY of tolerating antisemitism on campus, and the speech has drawn criticism in recent days. On Tuesday, CUNY Chancellor Fèlix Matos Rodríguez and the school’s Board of Trustees condemned Mohammed’s speech, calling her remarks “hate speech.”
On Wednesday night, at an event celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month at Gracie Mansion, New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized the speech. He had been in attendance earlier in the ceremony, which had initially drawn attention because part of the graduating class turned their backs on him and heckled him when he spoke. He said he was not present for Mohammed’s address.
“If I was on that stage when those comments were made, I would have stood up and denounced them immediately, because we cannot allow it to happen,” he said in his speech Wednesday night.
Mohammed has received support from pro-Palestinian organizations, as well as groups of students and faculty at the school. The law school’s Jewish students’ association, which is known as a vocal supporter of pro-Palestinian advocacy, criticized “external zionist organizations” in a May 21 statement backing Mohammed, and said that attacks on her speech had come from groups that were spreading “false claims” about her.
“The organizations currently attacking Fatima and the rest of CUNY Law’s student body, with absurd and false claims of antisemitism, are doing so against the wishes of the majority of CUNY Law’s Jewish students, who wholeheartedly stand with Fatima and have been grateful to have her as our classmate throughout law school,” the group said in the statement, which was also signed by 18 other student groups.
And following the statement from the chancellor and board, 40 members of the CUNY School of Law faculty called for the statement to “be withdrawn immediately,” and requested that “an apology be issued to the student speaker and to the students that make up the law school Class of 2023.”
“No reasonable interpretation of the student speaker’s remarks would suggest it was ‘hate speech,’ given that none of the student’s comments attacked any persons or protected classes, but at most commented on nations and state institutions that are incontrovertibly causing harm to people domestically and internationally,” the faculty letter said.
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Report: Iran’s New Military Plan Is Regime Survival Through Regional Escalation
Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attend an IRGC ground forces military drill in the Aras area, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, Oct. 17, 2022. Photo: IRGC/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – After last year’s devastating conflict with the United States and Israel, Iranian leaders have reportedly adopted a major strategic shift aimed at expanding the war across the Middle East to secure the regime’s survival, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Previously, Iran responded to foreign strikes with limited, targeted reprisals. The new doctrine abandons that approach, aiming instead to escalate the conflict regionally, particularly against Gulf Arab states and critical economic infrastructure. The goal is to disrupt the global economy and pressure Washington into shortening the war.
This decision followed the twelve-day war with Israel in June 2025, during which Israeli and US strikes eliminated senior Iranian military leaders, destroyed key air defense systems, and severely damaged nuclear facilities. In response, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—before his elimination early in the current conflict—activated a strategy designed to maintain continuity even if top commanders were neutralized.
Central to this approach is the so-called “mosaic defense” doctrine: a decentralized military structure in which the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operates through multiple regional command centers. Each center can conduct operations independently, allowing local commanders to continue fighting even if national leadership is incapacitated. This makes the military apparatus more resilient to targeted strikes.
Analysts cited by the Wall Street Journal suggest that Tehran’s calculation is to make the conflict costly enough for all parties to force the US and its allies into a diplomatic resolution.
However, the plan carries enormous risks. By escalating attacks on regional states and international economic interests, Iran could provoke a broader coalition against itself. Despite prior military losses, Iranian forces retain the capability to launch drone and missile strikes, maintaining their influence over the ongoing conflict.
For Iranian leaders, the immediate priority remains unchanged: the survival of the regime, even if it requires a major regional escalation.
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Katz Warns Lebanon to Disarm Hezbollah or ‘Pay a Heavy Price’
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias make statements to the press, at the Ministry of Defense in Athens Greece, Jan. 20, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
i24 News – Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday warned Lebanon’s leadership that it must act to disarm Hezbollah and enforce existing agreements, cautioning that failure to do so could lead to severe consequences for the Lebanese state.
Speaking after a high-level security assessment with senior military officials, Katz directed a message to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, saying Beirut had committed to enforcing an agreement requiring Hezbollah’s disarmament but had failed to follow through.
“You pledged to uphold the agreement and disarm Hezbollah — and this is not happening,” Katz said. “Act and enforce it before we do even more.”
The meeting took place in Israel’s military command center and included Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior defense officials, as Israel continues operations on multiple fronts.
Katz emphasized that Israel would not tolerate attacks on its communities or soldiers from Lebanese territory.
“We will not allow harm to our communities or to our soldiers,” he said. “If the choice is between protecting our citizens and soldiers or protecting the State of Lebanon, we will choose our citizens and soldiers — and the Lebanese government and Lebanon will pay a very heavy price.”
The defense minister also referenced Hezbollah’s leadership, warning that the group’s current chief could lead Lebanon into further destruction.
“If Hassan Nasrallah destroyed Lebanon, then Naim Qassem will destroy it as well,” Katz said.
Katz stressed that Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon but said it would not accept a return to the years in which Hezbollah launched repeated attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory.
“We have no territorial claims against Lebanon,” he said. “But we will not allow Lebanese territory to again become a platform for attacks against the State of Israel.”
He concluded with a warning to Lebanese authorities to take action against Hezbollah before Israel escalates its response.
“Do and act before we do even more,” Katz said.
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Trump Explores Possibility of Limited US Ground Deployment in Iran
United States President Donald J Trump in White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Thursday, December 18, 2025. Photo: Aaron Schwartz via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – US President Donald Trump has discussed the possibility of sending American ground forces into Iran as part of broader planning for how the country could be managed after the current conflict, reports NBC News.
The topic reportedly arose in discussions with senior aides and Republican figures outside the White House, where Trump outlined his thinking about what a post-war Iran might look like if the current confrontation significantly weakens the ruling regime. According to people briefed on those talks, the president has spoken about the need to secure Iran’s uranium reserves and prevent nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands during any potential political transition.
Sources say Trump’s comments did not focus on the idea of a large-scale US military invasion. Instead, the discussions centered on a far more limited scenario involving a small contingent of American troops tasked with specific strategic missions. Such forces could potentially be deployed to secure sensitive nuclear facilities, protect critical infrastructure, or support stabilization efforts during a transitional period.
Those familiar with the conversations said the idea has been presented as one possible option among several scenarios being considered as the conflict evolves. Trump has reportedly also described a longer-term vision in which a new Iranian leadership could cooperate with Washington economically, particularly in the energy sector. In private conversations, he has suggested that the United States could eventually work with a post-regime Iran on oil production arrangements, drawing comparisons to the current cooperation between Washington and Venezuela.