‘Hostile Environment’: University Failed To Address Hundreds Of Complaints Alleging Harassment Of Jewish Students

The Department of Education announced Thursday that it resolved several complaints with Rutgers University regarding how the school handled harassment of Jewish students.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigated three claims alleging Rutgers discriminated against students on the basis of national origin by not properly addressing reports of harassment and doxxing of Jewish students during the wave of antisemitic protests that swept college campuses since Oct. 7, 2023. This is according a department press release. The university has agreed to address the complaints and update its policy on investigating harassment claims.

Rutgers received nearly 300 reports between July 2023 and June 2024 alleging harassment against Jewish students and an additional 147 reports alleging discrimination against Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students.

The reports include claims of vandalism to the university’s Center for Islamic Life and to a student’s dorm room door, on which a swastika and defaced mezuzah were drawn, the press release said. Another report said an Israeli student was doxxed on social media by another student who also encouraged violence against the Israeli.

Several Jewish students reported feeling “unsafe” due to threats made against them and protest chants such as “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want Zionists here,” the announcement said. One of the encampments reportedly blocked Jewish students from accessing parts of the campus.

Rutgers’ Bildner Center for Jewish Studies was also apparently egged, the department said.

The university agreed to review its policies regarding investigating and responding to complaints and to issue a statement asserting it will not tolerate harassment and will properly investigate all current complaints, the announcement said. Rutgers will also provide discrimination training to university employees and campus police officers and will hold “listening sessions between relevant university administrators and representatives from relevant affinity groups to identify any needed additional university responses.”