Rutgers students want school to sever ties with Tel Aviv University

Rutgers’ University students want their school, the State University of New Jersey, to sever ties with Tel Aviv University in the wake of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The Rutgers University Student Assembly New Brunswick (RUSA) posted on their Instagram account that students voted to call for the school to terminate a partnership with Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the results were certified on Tuesday.

The vote was conducted through RUSA’s Spring 2024 Election. The student government body announced that the undergraduate student body population voted "yes" for a referendum advocating to sever ties with Tel Aviv University. Over 6,000 students voted "yes" to support the referendum while about 1500 voted "no."

The other referendum the students voted "yes" on asked, "Should Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, divest its endowment fund from companies and organizations that profit from, engage in, or contribute to the government of Israel’s human rights violations?" Over 6,000 students voted "yes" to support the referendum while about 1,700 voted "no."

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After voting "yes" on two referendums, the student body added the two measures to their "advocacy agenda."

"We applaud the students of Rutgers University-New Brunswick for using their voices to vote, as shown by a large turnout for the Spring 2024 election," RUSA announced.

"Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway noted in a message to the Rutgers community earlier this month that the university's partnership with TAU began in 2016 and adds to our fundamental academic and research mission," Dory Devlin, the assistant Vice President of News and Media Relations, told Fox News Digital.

Devlin explained further to Fox News Digital that he "traveled to Tel Aviv in 2021 with a delegation from New Jersey to renew the memorandum establishing the partnership and to show a commitment to global academic exchanges and to international engagement. Rutgers has relationships like this with universities all over the world, and they help move our mission forward."

The vote comes amid increased tensions on college campuses across the U.S. amid the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Hen Mazzig, the co-founder of The Tel Aviv Institute, told Fox News Digital that "it’s appalling that Rutgers students would support an antisemitic academic boycott of Rutgers’ partnership with Tel Aviv University."

"Academic freedom is an integral part of the university experience and with this vote students have signaled that they could care less about academic freedom. The university must strongly condemn this anti-Semitic vote and make clear that Rutgers will maintain its partnership with Tel Aviv University."

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The vote comes after protests erupted at a town hall at Rutgers University earlier this month.

A group of "out of control" pro-Palestinian protesters shouted anti-Israel slogans like "one solution, intifada revolution" and forced officials to end the meeting early as they and Jewish students were ushered out by police, a student previously told Fox News Digital.

The student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and administrators "ran away," "leaving behind the Jewish/pro-Israel students to deal with an unruly and obviously antisemitic crowd, whose attention turned to the Jews after the administration left." 

Students at colleges across the U.S. have efforted anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) initiatives.

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Columbia University President Minouche Shafik recently testified before lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday, where she was grilled on antisemitism on school grounds. 

Fox News' Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.