Daniel Thaler

Overview

Daniel Thaler [Dan Thaler] has demonized Israel and opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

Thaler was affiliated with the City University of New York School of Law (CUNY Law) chapter of the Jewish Law Students Association (CUNY JLSA) during the 2020-2021 academic year, when it spread hatred of Israel.

For more information, see the CUNY JLSA chapter profile.

Thaler is also a supporter of the anti-Israel campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

As of July 2023, Thaler was listed online as a law graduate working in the civil practice unit of the Legal Aid Society in New York City.

Thaler was listed as having passed the July 2022 New York State bar exam.

As of July 2023, Thaler’s Twitter page said he was a “@CUNYlaw alum” and his Facebook page said he started at CUNY Law in 2019. 

As of the same date, Thaler’s Facebook said he was located in New York, New York.

As of September 2023, Thaler used the handles “@thalercommadan” on Twitter, “@Dthals” on Facebook and “@tandhaler” on Instagram.

Demonizing Israel

On June 9, 2023, Thaler signed a statement titled: “Over 400 CUNY Law Alumni Stand with Fatima.”

The statement referred to a speech made by anti-Israel activist Fatima Mohammed at CUNY Law’s May 12, 2023 commencement ceremony. In the speech, she promoted violence, spread hatred of Israel and the police, honored financiers of the Hamas terror organization and showed support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. The CUNY Board of Trustees condemned the speech. 

The statement Thaler signed read: “The Statement from the Board of Trustees and Chancellor of CUNY claims that the student’s remarks were a ‘public expression of hate.’ To the contrary, her words — naming the harm and violence caused by…Israel’s violent occupation and apartheid system — were not only protected First Amendment speech, but also resonated with many of us both personally and professionally in our work.”

In February 2020, Thaler signed a letter titled: “CUNY Law Student groups, Students, Alumni and Faculty stand with SJP and Palestinian students.”

The letter said that the signatories “reaffirm our support for Students for Justice in Palestine.”

The letter continued: “A subset of Zionist activists choose to weaponize the genuine threats of anti-Semitism elsewhere in our society as a tactic to repress activism and harass and threaten Palestinian students and Muslim students more broadly.”

The letter was released shortly after a Jewish student at CUNY Law wrote an op-ed about her experiences with anti-Semitism on campus. That student later dropped out of CUNY Law after harassment she faced from her op-ed, as well as from both the February 2020 letter that Thaler signed and an open letter written by CUNY JSLA that claimed her “experience of antisemitism was nothing more than an attack on our Palestinian classmates who dared to exist, and dared to organize…for the human rights and freedom of the Palestinian people.” 

Opposing the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism

In April 2021, Thaler signed an “Open Letter to the CUNY Community Re: USS IHRA resolution.” The letter was written to convey the signatories’ “concern and alarm over the recent introduction…of the University Student Senate (USS) Resolution ‘Condemning Anti-Semitism and Supporting the CUNY Jewish Community.’” 

The open letter, which was written by CUNY JSLA and signed by several hundred organizations and individuals, expressed opposition to the resolution, which “adopts a definition of antisemitism put forth by the the [sic] International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).”


On April 11, 2021, The CUNY USS posted a Zoom meeting on Facebook where they debated the adoption of two different definitions of anti-Semitism. JLSA put forward one of the definitions which was presented to the CUNY USS as part of a larger resolution submitted by JLSA and CUNY Law SJP. 

The JLSA resolution said [pp. 3, 4]: “antisemitism is not an exceptional form of bigotry” and was [pp. 1, 3] “explicitly intertwined with white supremacy.” It also claimed [p. 4] that “Privileging the efforts to combat discrimination against [Jews], risks further marginalizing other targeted groups.”

The resolution also stated [p. 3]: “THEREFORE BE IT / RESOLVED: That the University Student Senate shall not adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. / RESOLVED: The University Students Senate urges all CUNY schools clubs, and organizations to reject and reverse the adoption of IHRA definition and replace it with the definition of antisemitism articulated herein.”

CUNY JLSA’s resolution and the IHRA resolution both failed to pass the CUNY USS.

Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Dthals

Twitter:https://twitter.com/thalercommadan

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tandhaler [Private]