Rutgers lifts suspension of chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine. Here's why

Rutgers University has lifted the suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on its New Brunswick campus and imposed a one-year probation period following an investigation into alleged disruptive behavior.

In a statement, Rutgers said the decision was made because "students were protesting in nonpublic forums, causing disruption to classes and university functioning, which are violations of university policy."

Students for Justice in Palestine has said that its suspension was imposed "with no due process" and said the university had silenced the group in an act of "political posturing."

"Rutgers, a university that prides itself on diversity, could have supported Palestinian students suffering during this time," a student organizer said. "Instead, our university has chosen to suppress our voices, experiences, and demands."

In its statement, Rutgers said it typically issues an interim suspension when a student organization is facing multiple conduct complaints.

"The conduct case involving the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Rutgers-New Brunswick has been resolved and the interim suspension of organizational activity is over," said spokesperson Megan Schumann Florance. "The organization has been put on probation for a year, with educational sanctions."

The complaints stemmed from an unsanctioned protest in the business school and an incident where students studying in the library held "cease-fire now" signs, according to accounts from students and administrators.

Rutgers opened the investigation one day before the Biden administration announced it had opened a civil rights investigation into its Newark campus over alleged antisemitism. Tensions have grown on campus since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 in Israel that left about 1,200 dead, and the subsequent bombardment of Gaza that has killed at least 24,000.

Some Jewish students, as well as Arab and Muslim students, have said they felt harassed or at times unsafe. SJP organizers said they felt the university's actions and statements dehumanized them and "furthered anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia."

The student and other members of the group withheld their names, saying that peers had been subject to harassment and doxxing for their participation in pro-Palestinian activity. They felt their complaints had not been taken seriously.

Rutgers said in its response that it "stands against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and against all forms of bias, intolerance, and hate."

"The university strives to be a safe and supportive environment for all our students, faculty, and staff while adhering to our commitment to free speech," officials wrote.

Students for Justice in Palestine called for the university to fire the person who leaked a letter of suspension to the press before they had been informed of any investigation. They thanked the campus community for support, saying that 150 student organizations signed a statement calling for their reinstatement.

At the press conference, students called for the university to to divest its endowment funds from Israeli bonds and corporations including Lockheed Martin and General Electric which manufacture weapons. The Endowment Justice Collective at Rutgers, which is leading the campaign, says it advocates "for ethical divestment from fossil fuels, apartheid, war, and the prison industrial complex."

In the response, Rutgers said it abides by laws and regulations governing public university endowments but considers such requests. "The university’s investment policy encourages members of the university community to submit divestment requests, which are considered by the university’s Joint Committee on Investments," Florance wrote.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers Students for Justice in Palestine reinstated. Here's why