Bergen student sues Rutgers for anti-Semitism, says she was bullied for defending Israel

A Jewish student from Bergen County has sued Rutgers University, claiming she was harassed in her dormitory after attending a pro-Israel event.

Rebecca “Rivka” Schafer, 19, said she was the victim of other cases of anti-Semitism on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, where students have set up camp in recent weeks to protest the military campaign in Gaza and the university's ties to Israel.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the state Supreme Court, seeks unspecified damages from Rutgers University. Schafer accuses the university of discrimination and of creating a hostile climate toward Jewish students.

“For years, Jewish students at Rutgers have reported incidents and concerns to Rutgers; yet Rutgers continues to tolerate faculty members, guest speakers, groups, students, and student organizations that legitimize or support anti-Semitic speech and actions,” the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Rivka was attacked by fellow students after she attended an event in the spring calling for support for Israel, which came in the wake of a non-binding student referendum on whether Rutgers should divest its endowment funds to companies with ties to “human rights abuses by the Israeli government.”

Two days later, on March 28, Rivka found fliers with her photo on them throughout her dorm, the lawsuit says. The image was accompanied by the messages “Free Palestine” and “Free Gaza” and urged students to vote for Rutgers University's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) proposal.

“The message to Rivka and her associates was clear,” the lawsuit states. “Don't support Israel. We know where you sleep.”

The goal was to “harass, intimidate and bully Jewish students, create a hostile school environment for Jewish students, and suppress the voting of Jewish students, including Schafer,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit accuses Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway of allowing the divestment vote to go ahead. Holloway was warned by Jewish students that doing so would fuel anti-Semitism, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit mentions another incident that allegedly occurred a week after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. At a dorm gathering, another student “expressed his appreciation that there was a high death toll in Israel.” The remark drew appreciative snaps from other attendees, who were “extremely aggressive” in their comments about Israel, the lawsuit says.

“Due to this behavior from her roommates, Schafer left the meeting frightened and shaking,” it says.

More: Rutgers University president defends decision to negotiate with protesting students

In an email Thursday, Rutgers spokeswoman Dory Devlin said the university does not comment on ongoing litigation, but she pointed to a statement last week in which the university noted that two students had been charged with harassment for “using a student's image on posters in their dorm without permission.”

“At Rutgers, we abhor anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance based on religion, national origin, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability or political views,” Devlin added in Thursday's statement. “When bias incidents are reported, we fully investigate them and take appropriate action. This includes working with local, state and federal law enforcement when the situation requires thorough investigation and to ensure the safety of members of the Rutgers community.”

Rutgers has already come under fire for its decision to negotiate with the student protesters. The university claims this led to a peaceful end to the camp, but critics have called it a capitulation. Holloway was summoned this week to testify before a U.S. House committee investigating anti-Semitism on campus. His testimony is scheduled for May 23.

On Thursday, two New Jersey congressmen also questioned whether the university has been too slow to respond to Jewish students' concerns. The two Democrats, Donald Norcross and Josh Gottheimer, released a letter to the university demanding more information about how Rutgers responded in December to a group of Jewish community members' calls for more security. They contrasted that with Rutgers' agreement with campus protesters last week.

“We are concerned that Rutgers appears to have created incentives for people to behave in a lawless and threatening manner by acceding to the demands of violent and hateful agitators while ignoring a number of similar demands that had been peacefully made to the university,” the congressmen said.

Schafer's lawsuit says the freshman was taunted during the May 2 camp by other students who said, “Hitler would have loved you.” And on May 3, it is alleged, Rutgers prevented Rivka and other Jewish students from holding an end-of-year barbecue on campus while the camps continued.

This is not the first time a Jewish student at Rutgers University has sued the university for anti-Semitism. In January, law student Yoel Ackerman filed a lawsuit claiming he was discriminated against on the basis of anti-Semitism and that university administration failed to protect him.

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For full access to her work on the intersection of spirituality with our daily lives, Please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jewish New Jersey student sues Rutgers, claims bullying for defending Israel