Jewish students at Rutgers are accusing the Biden administration of cutting what they see as a sweetheart deal with the university that allows the anthem to go out by allowing a continued culture of dissent.
The settlement, announced by the Education Department’s Office of Human Rights on January 2, requires Rutgers to take more anti-discrimination measures at the school after 400 reports of hate incidents were filed on campus between July 2023 and June 2024, about three-quarters of the time. which are allegations of discrimination and harassment against Jews or Israelis.
In one such incident, a student posted a provocative post on social media advocating violence against Israelis at a university with information on how to find them. In another report, a Jewish student’s room was found vandalized with a Swastika painted on the outside of their dormitory and their mezuzah vandalized. Members of the Jewish movement alleged that they were threatened because of their faith in another report.
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A sign that reads “Honour to the Martyrs” can be seen atop 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 previous reports of discrimination to determine whether additional steps should be taken to comply with Title IX. .
However, many students at Rutgers feel that the agreement falls far short of what is needed to protect them from the relentless attacks of antisemitism that have been unleashed on campus since Oct. 7.
Camilla Vaynberg, Vice President of Rutgers Students Supporting Israel, tells Fox News Digital that the measures agreed to by Rutgers will not stop racism on campus, and may end up being enforced after current president Jonathan Holloway takes action. down.
“I personally think that the university is being released, it is a promise we had before.” Vaynberg said.
“Will agreements be reached between them? [Holloway] and his faculty and the Department of Education are still the same no matter who replaces him?”
“Most of what Rutgers agrees on involves ‘statements’ and ‘revisions’ but they have been saying and revising things left and right since October 7th and yet, the rate of antisemitic incidents at Rutgers continues to rise,” Ben Stern, 20, a sophomore who Political Science course told Fox News Digital.
“The DOE sat on more than 400 discrimination reports for a year, and on the way out the door signed another toothless agreement that does nothing to protect anyone. It’s legal; this administration has completely failed the American Jewish community,” National Jewish Advocacy Center Director Mark Goldfeder said.
“I think this settlement falls far short of what needs to happen to address issues of racism at Rutgers,” lamented Stern.
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Rutgers University students set up a Gaza solidarity camp at the University of New Jersey’s Rutgers-Newark campus in Newark, United States on May 21, 2024. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Some critics say the settlement was an attempt by the Biden administration to prevent the Trump administration from taking more punitive action against the university.
“It is disgraceful that in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration to allow universities, including Rutgers … House Education Workforce 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 “anti-Semitism,” at the Combating Antisemitism conference in Washington DC in September.
“The Biden administration has proven once again that they don’t give a damn about anti-Semitism in America. That is not a coincidence [they] issued these long-awaited decisions 2 weeks before leaving office,” said former Rutgers Hillel Director Andrew Getraer.
“It’s a weak deal,” Rutgers junior Joe Gindi told Fox News Digital.
“I am incredibly disappointed by the Biden administration for terminating this agreement with Rutgers. This agreement is far from the end of the hatred at our university,” said Gindi.
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Rutgers students lived in tents and held 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 raising the alarm about persistent anti-Semitism at the university in the year since Hamas launched its murderous attack on Oct. 7 where the terrorist group killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds more.
LGBTQ Orthodox Jewish student Rivka Schafer is suing the school after their faces were featured on an anti-Israel poster that was plastered right outside their dorm.
“The message to Schafer and other Jewish students was clear: ‘Don’t support Israel, we know where you sleep,'” their complaint read.
New Jersey attorney Rajeh A. Saadeh, a member of the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers University, often shares gruesome videos of Hamas terrorists killing IDF soldiers on his Instagram, declaring a “season of hunting” in the words – description, reports the New York Post. .
Rutgers, the Biden White House and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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