CUNY Rescinds Request For Tony Kushner's Honorary Degree

CUNY Rescinds Request For Tony Kushner's Honorary Degree

Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner will not be receiving an honorary degree from the City University of New York this year due to his views on Israel, The Jewish Week reports.

The Week called the move "rare" and reported that Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld, a member of CUNY's board of trustees, led the charge against John Jay College's request to bestow the degree upon the playwright, which would guarantee him a speaking slot at commencement.

The New York Observer has more on Kushner's Israel views:


Kushner has criticized Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, but has also said that "I want the state of Israel to continue to exist. I've always said that. I've never said anything else. My positions have been lied about and misrepresented in so many ways. People claim that I'm for a one-state solution, which is not true."

What do you think? Should Kushner get the degree or not? Weigh in below.

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