Congressman Chris Smith asked the Rutgers University administration whether its response to demands issued by organizers of the encampments at the university is an appeasement of antisemite, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protesters.
The protestors at the campus directed Rutgers to divest from any firm or corporation materially participating in, benefiting from, or otherwise supporting the state of Israel’s settler colonialism, apartheid, and genocide of Palestine and the Palestinian people, terminate its partnership with Tel Aviv University, give scholarships to Gazan students with taxpayer funding; and issue a statement from the Office of the President acknowledging ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
“Any capitulation whatsoever to antisemitic, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas protesters is absolutely disgraceful,” Smith said, after visiting the New Brunswick campus last week to view the encampment on Voorhees Mall.
Rutgers published a “comprehensive list” of protester demands—which included full amnesty for their actions— set forth as requirements for ending the encampment, which reportedly disrupted 28 exams and impacted more than 1,000 students.
“Instead of rewarding unbridled hatred for Jews and the nation of Israel, Rutgers should be working to combat the violent and antisemitic threats that have been escalating against Jewish students on campus,” said Smith, who co-chairs the House Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.
“The action taken by University officials is especially concerning in light of the ongoing investigation by Congress into Rutgers’ egregious history of antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students,” said Smith, who vowed to continue pressing to hold top leaders at the state university accountable.
In March the University received a letter informing officials of the congressional investigation and noting “Rutgers stands out for the intensity and pervasiveness of antisemitism on its campuses.” The letter, which Smith said reads more like an indictment, specifically states that “Rutgers-Newark’s Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) has become notorious as a hotbed of radical antisemitic, anti-American, anti-Israel, and pro-terrorist activity.”
Smith said that Rutgers has submitted approximately 80,000 pages to date in response to the congressional investigation that remains underway but noted the vast majority have not been illuminative thus far.
