The Rutgers chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine held a protest in New Brunswick Wednesday to call for Rutgers University to divest from Israel. The students said they were motivated by recent reports that Israel is considering a ground invasion of Rafah, a city it considers a Hamas stronghold, a move the students said could lead to genocide.
The students called for the attention of Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway by chanting, among other things, “Holloway, you can’t hide! You’re committing genocide!” The group, which was briefly suspended before being put on probation for a year because of protests deemed to violate school policy, declined interview requests by NJ Spotlight News.
One speaker, who declined to give his name, said “the ruling institutions of the United States are complicit in the genocide.”
Dory Devlin, assistant vice president of news and media relations at Rutgers, said in a statement: “The process for proposing divestment is clear through the university’s investment policy, which instructs members of the university community to submit divestment requests that are considered by the university’s Joint Committee on Investments. Rutgers manages its endowment pursuant to the Rutgers University Investment Policy (40.2.14) and adheres to all applicable laws and regulations governing public university endowments.”
