New York Governor Kathy Hochul has ordered the City University of New York (CUNY) to immediately remove a job advertisement for a professor of Palestinian studies at the state university system’s Hunter College.

In an announcement for the position, Hunter College, Keoni’s alma mater, wrote that the institution is looking for “a historical scholar who takes a critical perspective on issues related to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure destruction, health, race, and gender.”

The announcement added that Hunter College is open to "diverse theoretical and methodological approaches" to teaching the class.

“Governor Hochul has ordered NYU to immediately remove this job posting and conduct a comprehensive review of the position to ensure that anti-Semitic theories are not being promoted in the classroom,” a Hochul spokesperson told the New York Post, owned by pro-Israel Rupert Murdoch.

NYU Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez and William Thompson Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees, issued a joint statement regarding the removal of the job advertisement, saying, “We find this language divisive, polarizing, and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s directive to remove this advertisement, which we have confirmed Hunter College has since done.”

The job advertisement, which also said it was part of a "group hiring" for Palestine Studies for two positions, has been removed from NYU's website.

The NYU Faculty and Staff Union condemned the move in a letter to Hochul and Rodriguez. “We strongly oppose the removal of the Palestine Studies faculty position as an infringement on academic freedom at Hunter College,” the union wrote. “We oppose anti-Semitism and all forms of hate, but this move is counterproductive. It is an overreach of power to exclude an entire area from academic study.”

Palestine studies grew as an academic discipline in response to the university protests that rocked the United States after the October 7 attacks and the subsequent brutal Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

But the CUNY listing sparked immediate backlash from Jewish groups and pro-Israel activists. Many critics, including watchdog groups, alleged that the language describing the position “promotes anti-Semitism.”

StopAntisemitism, a pro-Israel group, called the list part of a “bloody anti-Semitic slur” at CUNY in a post on its X website.

CUNY was a focal point for pro-Palestinian protests that rocked campus last year during Israel’s genocide in Gaza, leading to dozens of arrests and prompting the university and state government to adopt a heavy-handed response. The liberal magazine The Nation reported earlier this month that CUNY is investigating members of its student government for participating in the protests and promoting a boycott of Israel.

In September of last year, Jonathan Lippman, a former state judge and a prominent supporter of the Israel lobby group AIPAC, submitted a report to Governor Hochul “pointing to a disturbing number of unacceptable anti-Semitic incidents targeting members of the CUNY community” and calling for a comprehensive overhaul of how the university handles allegations of anti-Semitism.

The CUNY controversy plays into broader debates about when anti-Zionism crosses over into anti-Semitism. “The Lippman report is a serious attack on the movement for Palestinian rights,” one NYU doctoral student wrote when the report was released. “Throughout this year, Jews, including organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, have played a central role in pointing out that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism and speaking out against genocide. Yet this report repeats that false equivalence.”