Pro-Palestine Group Wants Rutgers To Cancel Tel Aviv University Deal

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A pro-Palestine group of Rutgers students are calling for the university to divest from all ties to Israel — and for Rutgers to terminate publicized plans for Tel Aviv University to open a satellite campus in New Brunswick.

The students call themselves the Endowment Justice Collective. On Tuesday, they submitted this 56-page request to Rutgers University, saying "Rutgers is complicit in genocide."

The students ask Rutgers to divest any stocks or investments "from any firm or corporation materially participating in, benefiting from or otherwise supporting the state of Israel's settler colonialism, apartheid and genocide of the Palestine and the Palestinian people ... This includes weapons companies directly supplying Israel’s murderous campaign, such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, RTX Co, Northrop Grunman and L3Harris."

The students point to the death of thousands in Gaza in the past six months of Israel's bombing, and now the food, medicine and aid crisis amidst Israel's siege.

The pro-Palestine student group said they also plan to speak at this town hall meeting President Jonathan Holloway will hold at 7 p.m. Thursday, inside the College Avenue Student Center. Thursday night's town hall is not specifically to discuss Israel's war with Hamas; it was organized by Rutgers for Holloway to do a Q&A with students on a range of issues.

Group is against Tel Aviv University opening New Brunswick satellite campus

As Patch reported in 2021, Tel Aviv University plans to open a satellite campus in the highly anticipated Innovation & Technology Hub, the massive new science/tech building Gov. Phil Murphy is backing in New Brunswick's city center.

Construction on the Hub is currently underway.

When finished, it will be a 10-story, $665 million complex directly across from the NJ Transit/Amtrak train station. Rutgers, Princeton University, Hackensack Meridian and RWJBarnabas will all have offices at the Hub; all four are meant to collaborate with each other in research and development. Murphy previously said he envisions it as a place where the next iPhone or cutting-edge cancer treatments will be invented.

"Nowhere else will have such research power under one roof," said Murphy in 2021. "Think about all Rutgers does. Think about all Princeton does ... (They) will be able to walk down a hall and collaborate with science and pharmaceutical researchers. This is where new businesses will be born and new jobs will be created."

In November 2021, Tel Aviv University announced they will be the Hub's first international tenant, and will rent office, classroom and lab space.

This week, the pro-Palestine student group is calling for Rutgers to "terminate" that agreement.

"We detail ... the harm that our university’s partnership with Tel Aviv University brings to Palestinians both at Rutgers and on their indigenous land," wrote the students in their April 2 letter. "We demand nothing less than complete divestment from these egregious investments, which drown our endowment fund and university facilities in blood."

Rutgers students are currently undertaking this vote in the student body asking whether they want Rutgers to divest from Israel. On Monday of this week, Holloway sent an email to the entire university community, where he acknowledged the vote, but said he does not approve of the boycott Israel/divestment movement.

You can read Holloway's April 1 email above.

"On the question of divestment, I think the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is wrong," said Holloway. "I believe in engagement, not isolation. I believe that ... lasting progress and peace are the outcomes of diplomacy and discussion."

In Monday's email, Holloway also said the school's partnership with Tel Aviv University will move forward.

"Our partnership with Tel Aviv University adds to our fundamental academic and research mission," said the school president. "I traveled to Tel Aviv in 2021 with a delegation from New Jersey to renew the memorandum establishing the partnership and to show my commitment to global academic exchanges and to international engagement. Rutgers has relationships like this with universities all over the world."

Holloway said he is joining Gov. Murphy and President Biden in calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza, and for Hamas to release all hostages.

Holloway also said students have been asking Rutgers to divest from Israel since at least 2020.

Prior: Students For Justice In Palestine Allowed Back On Rutgers Campus (Jan. 2024)

Rutgers Suspends Students For Justice In Palestine Group: University says the group has caused multiple disruptions on campus, and threatens the safety of other students. (Dec. 2023)

Congressman Asks Rutgers To Cancel Two Pro-Palestine Speakers (Dec. 2023)

Rutgers Palestinian Group Planned March, But Called It Off Last Minute (Oct. 2023)

Tel Aviv University The Newest Tenant At Rutgers' Tech Hub (Nov. 2021)