[News] Strike Two: SJP Rutgers- New Brunswick suspended (again)

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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Strike Two: SJP Rutgers- New Brunswick suspended (again)
Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers - New Brunswick
September 1, 2024
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Editor’s Note: Students for Justice in Palestine–Rutgers New
Brunswick released the following statement on August 27, 2024 after the
university suspended the student group for the entire upcoming school year.

*The Students for Justice in Palestine at Rutgers University– New Brunswick
has learned that it is suspended, **again,** until July 2025. Admin has
made this decision after we expressed our clear discomfort with the
continuous biased attacks by the student conduct team toward Palestinian
and Pro-Palestinian students after October 7th. We subsequently decided to
boycott any meetings to discuss our targeted charges, forgoing our ability
to appeal our suspension in protest against Admin’s sham conduct hearings
and clear display of contempt for its Palestinian students. Rutgers
University was the first public university to suspend its Students for
Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter on December 12th, 2023. Our SJP was
proud to announce our reinstatement after the massive “We Are All SJP”
campaign under the Endowment Justice Collective coalition in January. We
are calling on the Rutgers Administration to hold themselves accountable
for their McCarthyism and anti-Palestinian racism as we officially declare
this their **Second Strike**. *

On July 5th, 2024, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) received a
letter from the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution Services
notifying us that we have been suspended until July 4th, 2025. *Once again,
we recognize this as an act of repression and anti-Palestinian racism, and
therefore **refuse to adhere*
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T-LGYymc_sM1WIxj1PtL_GmcdjzKim0x/view>*
to the guidelines of the suspension.* The Rutgers Administration has deemed
us responsible for the following: 1) Disruptive or Disorderly Conduct, 2)
Failure to Comply with University or Civil Authority, and 3) Non-Compliance
with Other University Policies.
*Disruptive or Disorderly Conduct*

In regards to Rutgers’ first allegation, we understand that the Rutgers
Adminstration is attempting to maintain the regular operations of the
University despite its involvement in the current genocide being committed
in Gaza. We adamantly reject any status quo that includes the slaughter of
our people, friends, and family. With this decision, the Rutgers
Administration attempts to shift the focus of the genocide away from the
Zionist-inflicted horrors, to which it is complicit, whilst instead
choosing to target the Students for Justice in Palestine who seek justice.
Our families and loved ones in Gaza are constantly being disturbed by
airstrikes and massacres from the Israeli occupation, meanwhile the Rutgers
Administration is concerned with preserving the status quo that threatens
to unravel the fabric of our humanity by profiting off of Palestinian
suffering through our endowment fund. The Rutgers Administration’s
definition of disturbance is rooted in an anti-Palestinian bias and is
blind to the reality of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
*Failure to Comply with University or Civil Authority*

Rutgers claims that we have exhibited “failure to comply with legitimate
directives of authorized university officials.” Admin, and specifically
Holloway’s, unwavering support of Israel despite its own failure to comply
with international human rights laws makes our charges seem insignificant
and irrational. *Rutgers** funds*
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/11JppFiOpuyXnNh0mLLQPAh5tv-N6c_dZxKWQltvrCeA/edit>*
the destruction of universities in Gaza while putting pressure on its
students to go back to what they view as “normal.” *But let it be clear:
there will not be any sense of normalcy on campus for as long as Rutgers
continues relations with Israel. We will continue to resist the
institutional repression that comes with holding Rutgers accountable for
their immoral practices. Until Rutgers divests from Israel and severs all
ties with entities that support genocide and apartheid, we will continue to
challenge the administration and mobilize our community. The fight for
justice and liberation is not just a temporary campaign but a long-term
struggle that we are prepared to see through to the end.
*Non-Compliance with Other University Policies*

As discussed before, policies surrounding conduct are a cheap attempt to
pacify our calls for an end to complicity in genocide. While Rutgers deems
our behavior as non-compliant with University policy, it simultaneously
rejects its own. In Rutgers’ 40.2.14 Investment Policy, an advisory
statement says “that [the university’s] concerns extend beyond our campuses
and that the research, teaching, and service of the University addresses
problems so as to benefit citizens locally, regionally, nationally and
globally.” Giving $1.98 billion to companies that aid the state of Israel
in genocide violates this policy, and highlights the historical lack of our
University’s ethical and moral compass. *A properly working one would lead
you to liberation, Rutgers. *

We would like to clarify to the Rutgers Administration and our community
that the work of SJP extends beyond our university’s ability to recognize
us as a valid student organization. Our work is deeply rooted in the
anti-Zionist movement that has existed for decades, and our work will not
cease until we see liberation.* This is not a call for, nor a request to,
the Rutgers Administration to see SJP as a valid student organization. This
is a promise that we will not stop until Rutgers divests from all
corporations complicit in genocide. *

*This is the university’s second strike, and we are committed to ensuring
matters on campus do not return to “business as usual”.* We will not stand
by as our university remains complicit in the face of this brutal genocide.
We bear witness to Rutgers’ affiliation with the war crimes of Israel.
Rutgers, this is strike two.

Until Liberation,

Students for Justice in Palestine
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