“Rutgers must now make an unequivocal commitment to meaningful reform, which can be achieved without infringing on academic freedom and the right to assemble and protest,” the American Jewish Committee stated.
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that it was resolving three separate complaints under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, including nearly 300 allegations of Jew-hatred, with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
The evidence produced by the public university during the federal probe “reflects that the university likely operated a hostile environment based on national origin/shared ancestry in university programs or activities without redress as required under Title VI,” the department stated. Rutgers also “subjected some students to discriminatory different treatment based on national origin, including shared ancestry,” it added.
Of the 440 reports that the Education Department reviewed, about two-thirds (293) were for “alleged discrimination, including harassment, against students on the basis of shared Jewish ancestry and/or Israeli national origin and ancestry,” the government stated. The other third (147 reports) were based on alleged “basis of shared Palestinian, Arab, South Asian and/or Muslim ancestry,” it stated.