Jewish students at Rutgers are accusing the Biden administration of cutting what they see as a sweetheart deal with a university that is leaving for allowing a persistent culture of dissent.
The resolution, published by the Department of Education's Office of Human Rights on January 2, requires Rutgers takes a series of actions to combat discrimination on campus after 400 reports of hate incidents on campus were made between July 2023 and June 2024, nearly a third of which were alleged to be of discrimination and harassment against Jews or Israelis.
In one such case, a student wrote a provocative post on social media encouraging violence against an Israeli attending university with information on how to find them. In another report, a Jewish student's bedroom was found vandalized with a Swastika drawn outside their dormitory and their mezuzah destroyed. Members of the Jewish community said they were threatened because of their faith in one report.
A “Glory to our martyrs” sign is seen standing on a tree on the Rutgers Newark campus. (Christopher L. D'Alessandro)
As part of the settlement, Rutgers agreed to issue a statement to students and staff saying discrimination is not tolerated on campus, and to review past reports of discrimination to determine whether any further action should be taken. in order to comply with Title IX. .
However, many Rutgers students feel that the agreement falls short of what is needed to protect them from the relentless onslaught of antisemitism that has surfaced on campus since Oct. 7.
Camilla Vaynberg, Rutgers' Vice President of Student Support for Israel, tells Fox News Digital that the measures Rutgers has agreed to will not stem the tide of hate on campus, and may not end up being implemented after its president. current Jonathan Holloway. steps down.
“I personally think that the university has been abandoned, it is the promise that we had before.” Vaynberg said.
“Will the agreements reached between (Holloway) and his faculty and the Department of Education remain in place regardless of who replaces him?”
“Most of what Rutgers agreed to include” statements “and” assessments “but they have been talking and checking things right and left since October 7th, however, the rate of antisemitic incidents at Rutgers are increasing,” Ben Stern, 20, a sophomore majoring in Political Science told Fox News Digital.
“The DOE sat on more than 400 discrimination reports for a year, and on its way out the door it signed another toothless agreement that does absolutely nothing to protect anyone. It's legal; this system it completely failed the American Jewish community,” National Jewish Advocacy Center Director Mark Goldfeder said.
“I think this residency is miles short of what needs to happen to address antisemitism at Rutgers,” Stern complained.
RUTGERS STUDENTS CHANT 'USA! AGAINST THE NATIVES AND THE ISRAELITES
Rutgers University students set up a Gaza solidarity camp at the University of New Jersey on the Rutgers-Newark campus in Newark, United States on May 21, 2024. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Some analysts say that the solution was an attempt by the Biden administration to prevent the Trump administration from taking more drastic action against the university.
“It's unfortunate that in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration it's letting go of universities, including Rutgers… House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said in a statement Thursday.
Trump vowed that his administration would strip colleges of their accreditation and federal support if they did not stop teaching “antisemitic lies,” at the Combatting Antisemitism conference in Washington DC in September.
“The Biden administration has also proven that it doesn't give a damn about antisemitism in America. It's no coincidence that (they) released the long-awaited decisions 2 weeks before they left,” said Andrew Getraer, former Director of Rutgers Hillel.
“It's a bit of a deal,” Rutgers junior Joe Gindi told Fox News Digital.
“I am very disappointed in the Biden administration for cutting this deal with Rutgers. This deal is far from the end of the hatred at our state university,” Gindi said.
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Rutgers students are living in tents and holding rallies outside Murray Hall as part of their protest in support of the Palestinians affected by the war in Gaza. (Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Jewish students have been lamenting the insistence of anti-Semitism at the university in the year since Hamas launched its deadly Oct. 7 where the terrorist group killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds more.
LGBTQ Orthodox Jewish student Rivka Schafer sued the school after their face was featured in a right-wing anti-Israel paper. outside their dorm.
“The message to Schafer and other Jewish students was clear: 'Don't support Israel, we know where you sleep,'” read their complaint.
New Jersey attorney Rajeh A. Saadeh, a member of Rutgers University's Center on Security, Race and Rights, regularly shared heartbreaking videos of Hamas terrorists killing IDF soldiers on Instagram. his, declaring them “hunting season” in other words. The New York Post reported.
Rutgers, the Biden White House and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment.