Gaza Solidarity Camp Set Up On Rutgers Main Campus

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A pro-Palestine Gaza solidarity camp was erected Monday afternoon on the Rutgers main campus in New Brunswick. Rutgers students and others set up tents and an encampment on Voorhees Mall along College Avenue.

The protest is organized by Students for Justice in Palestine-Rutgers chapter and a group called the Endowment Justice Collective. Both are calling for Rutgers to divest from any investments or involvement with Israel as the Israel-Hamas war continues, something Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway has declined to do.

The tents were set up a few hours ago Monday afternoon. Rutgers is so far making no moves to take them down.

“Our students want to make a difference in a struggle that has cost far too many innocent lives and that threatens so many more. I respect their right to protest in ways that do not interfere with university operations or with the ability of their fellow students to learn,” said Holloway Monday afternoon in a statement provided to Patch.

Rutgers president Holloway previously said he does not support calls for the university to divest or boycott Israel.

“Although President Holloway has no direct role in the investment process, he has made clear his personal opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and his support for the relationship with Tel Aviv University,” said Rutgers in a statement Monday. “In a message to students earlier in April, Holloway noted, ‘I believe that enlightenment comes from involvement and that lasting progress and peace are the outcomes of diplomacy and discussion.'”

Students for Justice in Palestine and the Endowment Justice Collective formally asked Rutgers to divest from companies doing business in Israel April 2. They are also asking Rutgers to cancel its plans to bring a satellite of Tel Aviv University to the Rutgers campus in a few years, something Holloway has so far declined to do.

Their request is “undergoing the review process that is outlined in the university’s investment policy,” said a spokeswoman.

One of the Rutgers faculty unions, Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, issued a statement Monday afternoon saying they support the rights of the students to peacefully protest.

“Our unions support and defend our students’ and our members’ rights to free speech, free assembly and free expression,” said the AAUP. “As educators and researchers at Rutgers University, members of our union have varying positions on the wider issues in the Palestine-Israel conflict. But regardless of our differences, we are overwhelmingly united in defending the rights of our members and our students to speak, assemble and protest, especially in the face of the threats and repression students face today on campuses across this nation …. During this encampment, our unions will protect our students and defend their rights.”

The Rutgers faculty union said they will establish a faculty committee to “monitor the situation.”

No students have been arrested. But some unionized Rutgers faculty said they are volunteering to “provide protection” should students be arrested, said faculty union member Alan Maass.

Pro-Palestine Group Wants Rutgers To Cancel Tel Aviv University Deal (April 3)