Jewish students at Rutgers University are accusing the Biden administration of ending a sweet deal with a university that tolerates a deep culture of anti-Semitism.
The proposed settlement, announced Jan. 2 by the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, calls for: Rutgers takes a course of action 400 reports of hateful incidents on campus were filed between July 2023 and June 2024, with nearly three-quarters alleging discrimination and harassment against Jews or Israelis. As a result, efforts are needed to combat discrimination on campus.
In one such incident, a student wrote an inflammatory post on social media encouraging violence against Israelis attending the university, along with information on how to find the Israelis. In other reports, Jewish students' dorm rooms were found vandalized, swastikas painted outside the dorms, and mezuzahs desecrated. Members of the Jewish fraternity claimed they were threatened because they believed another report.
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A “Glory to the Martyrs” sign stands on a tree on Rutgers University's Newark campus. (Christopher L. D'Alessandro)
As part of the settlement, Rutgers University will issue a statement to students and employees saying that discrimination is not tolerated on campus and will determine whether further steps need to be taken to comply with Title IX. agreed to consider reports of past discrimination. .
But many Rutgers students feel the agreement falls far short of what is needed to protect students from the relentless attacks of anti-Semitism unleashed on campus since Oct. 7.
Kamila Veinberg, vice president of Rutgers Student Support Israel, told Fox News Digital that the measures agreed to by Rutgers are unlikely to stem the tide of anti-Semitism on campus, and that current president Jonathan Holloway's He said that even if measures are taken, they may not be enforced. under.
“Personally, I think the university is being held accountable. This is a promise we made earlier,” Vineberg said.
“Will there be an agreement between the two?” [Holloway] Will his department and the Ministry of Education remain the same no matter who replaces him? ”
“Much of what Rutgers has agreed to includes ‘statements’ and ‘reviews,’ but they have been saying and considering things left and right since October 7th. “The incidence of anti-Semitism at Rutgers University continues to rise,” Ben Stern, 20, a sophomore majoring in political science at the school, told Fox News Digital.
“DOE ignored over 400 discrimination reports for a year, and upon leaving, signed a toothless agreement that literally does nothing to protect anyone. This is official. , this administration has completely failed the American Jewish community,” said Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center.
“I think this settlement falls far short of what is needed to address the problem of anti-Semitism at Rutgers University,” Stern lamented.
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On May 21, 2024, Rutgers University students set up a Gaza solidarity camp at the College of New Jersey on the Rutgers-Newark campus in Newark, USA. (Photo credit: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu, Getty Images)
Some critics say the settlement was an attempt by the Biden administration to prevent the incoming Trump administration from taking harsher disciplinary action against the university.
“It is shameful that universities, including Rutgers University, are being left unchecked in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration,” Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said Thursday. said in a statement.
President Trump vowed at the Combating Anti-Semitism Conference in Washington, D.C., in September that he would strip universities of their accreditation and federal support if his administration did not end “anti-Semitic propaganda” in education.
“The Biden administration has proven once again that it has no interest in anti-Semitism in America. it's no coincidence [they] “I announced these long-awaited decisions just two weeks before my departure,” said former Rutgers Hillel coach Andrew Gettraer.
“This is a weak contract,” Rutgers junior Joe Gindi told FOX News Digital.
“I am extremely disappointed in the Biden administration for terminating the agreement with Rutgers University. This agreement is far from the end of state university hatred,” Professor Gindi said.
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Rutgers University students occupy tents and hold a rally outside Murray Hall as part of a protest in support of Palestinians affected by the war in Gaza. (Alexander Lewis/MyCentralJersey/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Jewish students have sounded the alarm about persistent anti-Semitism at the university since Hamas launched a genocidal attack on October 7 in which the terror group killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds more. There is.
Rivka Schaefer, an LGBTQ Orthodox Jewish student, sued the school after their faces appeared on an anti-Israel flyer posted just outside their dormitory.
“The message to Mr. Schaefer and other Jewish students was clear: 'Don't support Israel, we know where you are sleeping,'” their complaint said.
Raje A. Saadeh, a New Jersey lawyer who is a member of the Rutgers University Center on Security, Race, and Rights, regularly shares disturbing videos on his Instagram of Hamas terrorists killing Israeli Defense Force soldiers. , declared in the caption that it's “hunting season.” The New York Post reported.
Rutgers, the Biden White House and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
