June 21, 2021

Dear Profs. Davis, Vasquez, and Squillacote

This is to inform you of my resignation from the PSC-CUNY Union. You have undoubtedly received many similar notices in response to your recent Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People, from faculty far more eloquent than I am, so I’ll make my comments brief, and sadly, personal. My parents were survivors of Auschwicz. I know anti-Semitism when I see it, despite your tepid denouncement of such added to your resolution as an afterthought. Your one-sided manifesto fails to mention Hamas, an organization with no other goal than the destruction of Israel. Whether one agrees or disagrees with some of Israel’s policies (and I strongly support a two-state solution), BDS is undeniably a blueprint for dismantling the only democratic nation in the region. It is abundantly clear that the rising chorus of BDS support has brought on an epidemic of anti-Semitic violence. I never dreamed I would feel unsafe on my own campus in the heart of NYC. I cannot financially support a union that is at odds with my security and that of my Jewish colleagues and students. If the PSC-CUNY is willing in the future to spend all of its time, energy, and our money on working and advocating for improved faculty salaries and benefits, I will gladly rejoin. At the present time, you do not represent me.

Sincerely,

Steve G. Greenbaum, Ph.D.

CUNY Distinguished Professor of Physics