Rutgers students criticize Biden DOE over Rutgers settlement

Jewish students at Rutgers accuse the Biden administration of striking what they see as a friendly deal with the university that allows it to get off the hook for allowing a persistent culture of anti-Semitism.

The settlement, which was announced by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on January 2, requires… Rutgers to take a series of actions To combat discrimination on campus After 400 reports were filed of hate incidents on campus between July 2023 and June 2024, nearly three-quarters of them alleged discrimination and harassment against Jews or Israelis.

In one such incident, a student wrote an inflammatory post on social media encouraging violence against an Israeli studying at the university and providing information on how to find him. In another report, it was revealed that the dormitory room of Jewish students had been vandalized with a swastika being painted outside their dormitory and their mezuzah had been defaced. Members of one Jewish fraternity claimed they were threatened because of their belief in another report.

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As part of the settlement, Rutgers agreed to issue a statement to students and employees that discrimination is not tolerated on campus, and to review past reports of discrimination to determine whether further action is needed in order to comply with Title IX. .

However, many students at Rutgers feel that the agreement falls far short of what is necessary to protect them from the relentless onslaught of anti-Semitism that has been unleashed on campus since October 7.

Camilla Feinberg, vice president of Rutgers Students Supporting Israel, told Fox News Digital that the measures approved by Rutgers are unlikely to stem the tide of anti-Semitism on campus, and may not be implemented beyond current president Jonathan Holloway. Step down.

“Personally, I think the university has been let off the hook, which is a promise we made before.” Feinberg said.

“Will the agreements reached between (Holloway), the faculty and the Department of Education remain the same regardless of who replaces him?”

“A lot of what Rutgers has approved involves ‘statements’ and ‘reviews,’ but they’ve been mentioning and reviewing things left and right since October 7, and yet, the rate of anti-Semitic incidents at Rutgers continues to rise,” Ben Stern, 20, a student, said in the The school’s sophomore political science major is for Fox News Digital.

“The Department of Energy has looked at over 400 reports of discrimination for a year, and on its way out signed another agreement that does literally nothing to protect anyone. It’s official; this administration has completely failed the American Jewish community.” Center Director Mark Goldfeder said.

“I think this settlement falls far short of what needs to happen to address the issues of anti-Semitism at Rutgers,” Stern lamented.

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Some critics claim the settlement was an attempt by the Biden administration to prevent the incoming Trump administration from taking much more punitive action against the university.

“It is disgraceful that in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration, universities, including Rutgers… were allowed to get away with it.” House Education Workforce Committee Chairman Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said in a statement Thursday.

Trump pledged that his administration would strip colleges of federal accreditation and support if they did not stop teaching “anti-Semitic propaganda,” at a conference on combating anti-Semitism in Washington, D.C., in September.

He added: “The Biden administration has proven once again that it does not care about anti-Semitism in America. “It is no coincidence that they issued these long-awaited decisions just two weeks before leaving office,” said Andrew Getraer, former Rutgers Hillel director.

“It’s a poor deal,” Joe Gendy, Jr. of Rutgers University, told Fox News Digital.

“I am very disappointed in the Biden administration for making this deal with Rutgers,” Gendi said. “This deal is far from the end of hatred at our public university.”

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Jewish students have been raising the alarm about persistent anti-Semitism at the university during the year since Hamas launched genocidal attacks on October 7 in which the terror group killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds more.

Orthodox Jewish LGBTQ student, Rivka Schaffer, sued the school after her face appeared on an anti-Israel flyer pasted to the right outside their residence.

“The message to Shafer and other Jewish students was clear: Do not support Israel, we know where you sleep,” their complaint said.

New Jersey lawyer Rajeh Saadeh, a member of the Center on Security, Race, and Rights at Rutgers University, routinely shared disgusting videos of Hamas terrorists killing IDF soldiers on his Instagram, declaring it “hunting season” in the comments, The New York Post reported.

Rutgers, the White House and the Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment.