Tony Kushner row deepens as supporters renounce honorary degrees

[CHIMO]

A row over the decision by a leading New York university to refuse playwright Tony Kushner an honorary degree due to accusations he was too critical of Israel has deepened as several high profile honorary degree holders renounced their own awards.

Kushner, who wrote the Pulitzer prize-winning Paul Angels in America, was set to get an honorary degree from John Jay College, a campus of City University of New York. But his name was removed from a list of other intended recipients after a CUNY trustee, pro-Israel activist Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, spoke out against it.

Wiesenfeld accused Kushner of being critical of the Israeli army, supportive of a boycott of the country and of saying that Israel had been founded partly as a result of ethnic cleansing. In an open letter to CUNY Kushner responded angrily, denying the allegations, accusing Wiesenfeld of slander and saying he was "proud to be Jewish".

Now, in the wake of Kushner's letter, at least three prominent previous recipients have declared they no longer want their honorary degrees from the university. Barbara Ehrenreich, an acclaimed activist journalist, issued a statement saying she had renounced her 2004 award. "Please expunge me from your record of past honorees," she said. She was joined by Michael Cunningham, who also has won a Pulitzer, for his book The Hours, and was given an honorary degree in 2009. "I was shocked and dismayed to hear about the treatment Tony Kushner received at the hands of the CUNY board of trustees," he said in a statement.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/may/06/tony-kushner-supporters-renounce-degrees