NEW JERSEY – Last night, May 8, 2024, U.S. Representatives Donald Norcross (NJ-01) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) sent a letter to Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway calling on the university to urgently address the antisemitism and safety concerns raised by Jewish students for months. Rutgers has a responsibility to ensure the safety and inclusion of all faculty and students on campus after the administration appeased the demands of violent and hateful agitators.

In the letter to President Holloway, the lawmakers also demanded answers about whether the administration consulted with Jewish students about the negotiations with protestors and what steps the university is taking to include the Jewish community in decisions on campus. The members requested answers by Thursday, May 16.

“Members of Rutgers’ Jewish community have made urgent requests of the administration, as far back as December, pleading with them to take several reasonable steps that would ensure their safety and welcomeness on campus. As far as we can tell, these requests have been largely ignored. As a Jewish faculty member said, ‘We played nice and got little; SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine] broke every rule in the book and got rewarded with amnesty,’” wrote the Members.

Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recorded a 388% increase in incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assault over the same period last year. In 2023, ADL recorded 8,873 antisemitic incidents across the United States, a 140% increase from the 3,698 incidents recorded in 2022 and is the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.The letter can be found here.

Full text of the letter sent to Rutgers University President can be found here and below:

President Jonathan Holloway

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 7 College Avenue, 2nd Floor

New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Dear President Holloway:

We write with questions regarding your decision to acquiesce to several concerning demands made by anti-Israel protesters on campus. Jewish students across the country face dramatic increases in antisemitism that have left them fearing for their safety.1 Institutions of higher education should be a place for learning and the free exchange of ideas which requires that all students feel safe and welcome on campus, including Jewish students. Recent reports of hideous antisemitic threats at Rutgers have already created serious cause for fear about the safety and well-being of Jewish students, and all students, on campus.2

We fear that the administration’s accession to troublesome demands made by protestors failed to adequately take into account the perspectives and voices of members of the Jewish community at Rutgers. Furthermore, we are concerned that Rutgers appears to have incentivized people to act in a lawless and threatening manner by appeasing the demands of violent and hateful agitators while ignoring an analogous set of requests made peacefully to the University. As a Jewish faculty member said, “We played nice and got little; SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine] broke every rule in the book and got rewarded with amnesty.”

According to the ADL, there were more than 8,000 antisemitic incidents reported in 2023, the highest number ever reported since the organization began tracking in 1979.3 One in ten of those incidents were in New Jersey. Immediately following the heinous October 7 terrorist attacks, antisemitism increased precipitously across the country, especially on college campuses like Rutgers. The outbreak in antisemitic protests on college campuses has left Jewish students and faculty feeling threatened and targeted.4 Last month, Jewish students from nine universities, including Rutgers University, participated in a bipartisan roundtable discussion before the House Education and Workforce Committee. As the roundtable revealed, disturbing threats and intimidation on campus have sadly prevented some students from attending classes or using the library because they do not feel safe.5 Universities have an obligation to ensure the safety, well- being, and security of all students.

As mentioned, members of Rutgers’ Jewish community have made urgent requests of the administration, as far back as December, pleading with them to take several reasonable steps that would ensure their safety and welcomeness on campus. As far as we can tell, these requests have been largely ignored. On December 11, 2023, members of Jewish Faculty, Administrators, and Staff (JFAS) respectfully submitted a list of requests designed to ensure student safety on campus and stem the rising tide of antisemitism.6 Those lists of requests include asking:

1. The University’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) to include combating antisemitism in their mandate, incorporate combating antisemitism into their mission statements and policies, and receive training on how to report and act in response to antisemitic incidents when they occur.

o That request remains unanswered.

2. The University to address the openly antisemitic rhetoric being spewed by Rutgers’ Center for Security, Race, and Rights (CSRR) and create a university wide Committee on Antisemitism and the Jewish Experience (CAJE).

o Not only do these requests remain unanswered, Rutgers actively granted lawless agitators’ request for an additional cultural center while ignoring the same plea from the Jewish community.

3. A full and transparent accounting of antisemitic incidences on campus and for the equal enforcement of campus polices against hatred, intimidation and harassment emanating from university sanctioned student groups.

O Not only do these requests remain unanswered, but Rutgers rewarded Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) after they violated the terms of their probation by orchestrating the coordinated harassment and intimidation of Jewish students on campus and the disruption of campus life generally by organizing illegal encampments.

Collectively, these actions, and lack thereof, send the disturbing message that those on campus who abide by the rules and engage respectfully with the administration will be ignored while persistent purveyors of harassment, hatred, and intimidation will be rewarded. Rutgers cannot ignore the victims of vile and dangerous hatred on campus, while incentivizing those who break the rules.

We commend your May 6 statement, expressing opposition to the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and reaffirming Rutgers’ fundamental, academic, and research partnership with Tel Aviv University (TAU).7

However, by their own admission, the escalation in these campus protests, encampments, anti-American cheers, and expression of solidarity with Hamas and other Iranian-backed proxies have only emboldened terrorists to prolong the current conflict. Israel and our international allies have agreed to various terms of a temporary pause that would allow for the increased flow of humanitarian aid, and the release of the hostages. Hamas is emboldened by the widespread support on college campuses, who continues to walk away from negotiations. If Hamas truly cared about the Palestinian people, they would lay down their weapons, stop firing rockets at Israel, and release the hostages, including Americans.

These protests, including at Rutgers University, have led to universities canceling or postponing final exams as students have not felt safe on campus.8 This is in direct violation of Rutgers University policy 50.3.5 – “Disruptions: Administrative Policy and Response” which clearly states, “Disruption is conduct by any person that intentionally or recklessly obstructs, impairs, or interferes with: (1) teaching, studying or administration of the University, including the clinical mission of RBHS, (2) the authorized and other permissible use of University facilities, and (3) the rights and privileges of other members of the University community to engage in educational pursuits.”9 Rutgers’ decision to even give the appearance of complying with a number of demands presented by these protestors, raises a series of questions that Rutgers administration and leadership must answer.

If students cannot feel safe and secure in their learning environment, they are at a severe disadvantage. That is why we would like answers to the following by Thursday, May 16:

1. Will Rutgers implement the December 11, 2023 recommendations of members of Jewish Faculty, Administrators, and Staff? These have been attached as Exhibit A for your convenience. Please enumerate why you will or will not implement each recommendation.

2. How will Rutgers incorporate the perspectives and voices of Jewish students when considering divestment from one of our greatest democratic allies, Israel?

3. Did Rutgers administration consult with Jewish students at any point during these negotiations with campus protesters?

4. Have you met with Jewish student organizations, and other student organizations to discuss their demands for their security and safety?

a. If you have met with them, what requests have been made of the university and what has the university actually done to meet these needs?

5. What assurances can you provide Jewish students that their safety and security will be maintained and preserved on campus?

6. What plans will the university implement to prevent incidents like this in the future and how they will be resolved?

Now more than ever, transparency and accountability are crucially needed from academic and administration officials at campuses across the country. As President Biden said, “In America, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech, to debate and disagree, to protest peacefully and make our voices heard... but there is no place on any campus in America [or] any place in America for antisemitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind.”10 Rutgers must abide by these principles to ensure students cannot use intimidation, threats, and harassment towards certain students because of their race, religion, sexuality, or ethnicity to achieve demands.

We look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,

Donald Norcross Member of Congress Josh Gottheimer Member of Congress

Attachment

CC: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy Rutgers Board of Governors

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