Jewish Professors: We Support Rutgers' Handling Of Gaza Protest

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — This week, more than 400 Jewish university professors from across the United States signed this letter, expressing their support for Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway's handling of the pro-Palestine protests on his campus.

Specifically, the letter backs Holloway's decision to come to a series of agreements with student protesters:

"We write as Jewish academics from across the United States to offer full support for the May 2 agreement reached by Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway with the Gaza solidarity encampment," it read. "The agreement, which brought the encampment to a peaceful end, makes a host of crucial commitments to the flourishing of Rutgers’s Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities."

The letter was signed by 425 university professors from across the U.S., ranging from Brown to Drexel to the University of Southern California. The number of signers continues to grow, as American Jewish college professors are asked to add their names.

Separately, on Sunday about 60 graduating seniors walked out during the Rutgers commencement ceremony in a pro-Palestine protest. NJ.com has photos of the walk-out. The students, many wearing keffiyehs and holding signs that read "Free Palestine," walked out about halfway through the commencement speaker's address.

Last week, Holloway endured significant criticism from Republican lawmakers in and outside New Jersey, who said he was wrong to agree to some of the students' demands, which include opening an Arab cultural center at Rutgers, and hiring professors who specialize in Palestinian studies.

North Carolina Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx called Holloway to testify before Congress to publicly defend why he agreed to compromise with the students.

Foxx said Rutgers "surrendered to antisemitic radicals."

Holloway confirmed last week he will testify May 23 before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He also said he is "confident" in his handling of the protest.

However, it was not just Republicans: North Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer and South Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross, both Democrats, also criticized Holloway for agreeing to some of the students' requests.

"Jewish students across the country face dramatic increases in antisemitism that have left them fearing for their safety," wrote the two Congressmen in this May 9 letter they sent Holloway. "We fear the administration’s accession to troublesome demands made by protestors (sic) failed to adequately take into account the perspectives and voices of members of the Jewish community at Rutgers."

Here are all eight requests Holloway agreed to: Rutgers Agrees To 8 Demands From Pro-Gaza Protesters

There are two key demands Rutgers did not agree to: Divest all RU investments from the nation of Israel. That request is currently under the formal review process that all Rutgers' investment inquiries undergo, said Holloway.

Rutgers also did not agree to kill plans for Tel Aviv University to open a satellite campus in New Brunswick, something that is planned to happen in the next few years.

"We will not. Period," Holloway said last week.

The letter of support for Holloway was also signed by prominent American scholars of Jewish Studies and the Holocaust.

"We reject utterly charges that these commitments are in any way harmful to Jews, at Rutgers or anywhere," said the professors. "All the items agreed to on May 2 are firmly within the ambit of a public university’s mission: to provide curricular, social and cultural support for its student body. Attempts to suggest that the agreement is antisemitic impose a tribalist vision on a diverse campus and nation ... It is absurd and dangerous to suggest that political demands like these should not be discussable at universities. Conducting open debate about issues of pressing moral and political importance is what universities do."

The professors also praised Rutgers for avoiding "the brutal confrontation with the police that we have seen unfold on other campuses across the country. Rutgers offers a different model: openness to dialogue and critical inquiry, the pursuit of knowledge and mutual understanding."

Rutgers President Will Testify Before Congress Regarding Gaza Protest (May 8)

Rutgers President: We Will Not Sever Tel Aviv University Deal (May 7)

Rutgers Agrees To 8 Demands From Pro-Gaza Protesters (May 6)