House committee asks Rutgers for numerous records, correspondences related to antisemitism on its 3 campuses

The chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent a strongly worded 14-page letter to the top officials at all three campuses of Rutgers University, saying she had “grave concerns” regarding what she called the school’s inadequate response to antisemitism on its campuses and its failure to protect Jewish students.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina), in a letter dated March 27, wrote that Rutgers stands out for the intensity and pervasiveness of antisemitism on its campuses.

“Rutgers senior administrators, faculty, staff, academic departments and centers, and student organizations have contributed to the development of a pervasive climate of antisemitism,” she wrote.

The letter listed numerous examples that Foxx said show a pattern of deeply troubling incidents and developments at Rutgers.

It also listed four examples of when “Rutgers faculty and staff have contributed to a hostile academic environment through a pattern of hateful antisemitic statements, engagement in antisemitic harassment of Jewish, students and justification of terrorism,” she wrote.

(See the full letter here.)

The committee asked Rutgers for information connected to antisemitism in 19 areas, including all reported incidents of antisemitism, the response of the school and communication about antisemitism among numerous people and organizations at the school.

The committee asked that the school respond to its inquiry by noon April 10 to “assist the committee in understanding antisemitism at Rutgers and the school’s response.”

Rutgers offered the following written response: “Rutgers takes claims of antisemitism, and all forms of bias and intolerance, very seriously. The university received the committee’s letter and will respond directly to the chairwoman.”

U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1^st Dist.) is the only New Jersey representative on the 45-member committee. Norcross, traveling back from an overseas trip with a congressional delegation, was not immediately available for comment.

A spokesperson for Norcross said the congressman is monitoring the situation carefully.

“The congressman continues to be deeply concerned about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses since the horrific Oct. 7 attack by Hamas,” the spokesperson said. “He believes that our universities and higher education leaders must take the concerns of Jewish students, faculty and staff seriously and adopt concrete measures to ensure their security and safety. He will continue to speak out forcefully against antisemitism and hatred in every form, and he will always stand united with the Jewish community in South Jersey and around the world.”