House adds Rutgers to list of schools under antisemitism investigation

The House Education Committee announced Wednesday it has sent a letter to Rutgers University requesting information regarding its handling of antisemitism on campus, making it the fifth college the panel is probing on the issue.  

“The Committee on Education and the Workforce (the Committee) is investigating Rutgers University’s response to antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students. I have grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Rutgers’ response to antisemitism on its campuses,” Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said in her letter, which is similar to ones the committee has sent out to Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Columbia University. 

It contains incidents of antisemitism the committee says the school did not adequately address and requests information since 2021 on antisemitic activity, what disciplinary actions have been taken and communications that have occurred between university officials on the subject.  

“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,” the letter reads.    

Republican lawmakers vowed to start investigating schools after a December hearing where the presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT declined to say if calls for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment on campus.  

The investigations began with those three schools, with Harvard’s probe recently escalating to a subpoena from Foxx.  

Officials from Columbia will be testifying in front of the committee at an antisemitism hearing in April.