House committee opens investigation into Rutgers University over 'pervasiveness of antisemitism on its campuses'

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced she opened an investigation into Rutgers University over its response to anti-Semitism on campus.

The letter was sent to several Rutgers administrators on Wednesday, with Foxx writing that the New Jersey college “stands out for the intensity and pervasiveness of antisemitism on its campuses.”

Campus Reform’s own reporting was mentioned in the letter, as Foxx wrote that Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers has received over $20,000 from its student government.

In the student government’s Fall 2023 budget, SJP got $2,020.20 for a “Palestinian History and Divestment Panel” and another $2,835.00 for the “National Students for Justice in Palestine Conference.” The group also received $816.00 in funds designated for organizational maintenance.

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The pro-Palestinian group also received 8,682.70 for two events listed as “pinkwashing information session” in 2023,along with another $884.00 designated for organizational maintenance.

Foxx wrote that the SJP chapter has ”repeatedly engaged in antisemitic harassment and disruptions of student life and learning at the university.”

The SJP chapter was suspended in December 2023, only to be reinstated in January. 

When the group was reinstated, SJP members said during a press conference that “dying as a martyr, dying as a hero is one of the greatest sacrifices you can do as a Palestinian and as a Muslim...say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want Zionists here.”

Rutgers student Joe J. Gindi said during a committee roundtable on Feb. 29 that ”Jew-hatred has become rampant at Rutgers University.”

”And it has become clear that some members of the school’s administration and faculty are complicit in allowing—and even in encouraging—this hate to grow,” Gindi said. “at Rutgers University—like at many other campuses—there appears to be selective enforcement of [University] rules. They just don’t seem to apply when it comes to protecting Jewish students.”

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Foxx asked Rutgers administrators to provide a trove of documents by April 10, including:

- ”All reports of antisemitic acts or incidents and related documents and communications since January 1, 2021.

- ”All documents and communications relating to or reflecting sources of funding for Rutgers SJP, including but not limited to university, departmental, faculty, and student organization funds, as well as foreign donations.”

- ”All documents referring or relating to the findings and results of any disciplinary processes or changes in status by Rutgers (including all Rutgers campuses, schools, and units) toward Rutgers student organizations related to conduct involving Jews, Israelis, Israel, Zionists, or Zionism since January 1, 2021, including but not limited to Rutgers SJP and the Endowment Justice Collective.”