Campus Watch January 2, 2025

UMich Anti-Israel Student President, VP Removed from Office

The anti-Israel student president and vice president of the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government (USG) were removed from their respective positions after the Central Student Judiciary (CSJ) found them guilty of dereliction of duty.

The Michigan Daily reported that the CSJ rendered their verdict on Dec. 23 based on evidence that Alifa Chowdhury had skipped four meetings as president and that Elias Atkinson, as vice president, did not organize monthly meetings as mandated.

As previously reported in Campus Watch, Chowdhury and Atkinson were impeached in November after facing allegations of incitement to violence; the allegations stemmed from a meeting in October in which anti-Israel protesters became confrontational after a measure that would have sent $440,000 to a West Bank university failed. Chowdhury was also impeached over allegedly engaging in cybertheft by changing the password to the CSG Instagram account and issuing a post expressing frustration that the measure didn’t pass. The CSJ found Chowdhury and Atkinson to be not guilty over those allegations.

Rep. Gottheimer Condemns Rutgers Faculty Unions’ BDS Support

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) issued a statement on Dec. 20 condemning faculty unions at Rutgers University for adopting a resolution supporting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

According to The Jerusalem Post, 58% of faculty in the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union and the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers voted in favor of the resolution, which called for the university to divest from companies that conduct business with Israel and suspend the university’s partnership with Tel Aviv University. The resolution accused Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing. 

“I strongly condemn hatred and antisemitism,” Gottheimer said. “The hate-motivated, antisemitic BDS movement calls for the eradication of the democratic State of Israel, America’s key ally. It is unacceptable and has no place on college campuses or in our country – especially at Rutgers. In fact, under New Jersey state law, it is illegal for New Jersey state pension and annuity funds to invest in companies that boycott Israel or Israeli businesses. I urge Rutgers University to immediately and publicly reject this harmful resolution and reaffirm its commitment to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for all students and faculty.”

16 GMU Law Profs Call on University President to Take Stronger Action Against “Pro-Terror Organizing”

Sixteen professors at George Mason University’s (GMU) Antonin Scalia Law School sent a letter to university President Gregory Washington via email urging him to take stronger action against “pro-terror organizing” on campus.

The professors wrote, per The Daily Signal: “It would be very nice and indeed useful right now to be able to tell colleagues, friends, and reporters who are inquiring that the university administration has done everything it could to disassociate itself from those who have been fomenting antisemitic, pro-terrorist sentiment on campus, but we both know that would be false.” The professors argued that the university should not view “overt pro-terrorist organizing at GMU as solely a matter of freedom of speech” and that Washington needs to denounce pro-terror protests on campus and enforce. Further, they contended that the university has only enforced a no-mask policy “in a desultory manner, and only upon the insistence of the state’s attorney general.” 

Washington responded by stating: “We have spoken out and condemned the Oct 7 attack twice. We have spoken out against antisemitism directly in our communications as well. We have also engaged our faculty publicly to help educate students on this matter and both Jewish and Muslim faculty have responded with programs addressing the conflict.” Regarding the no-mask policy, Washington said that “we have been told by the Commonwealth’s Attorney that offenses will be treated as only secondary offenses, and thus not something that police would be warranted to cite individuals for unless they were also being cited for a primary offense.  Our request for clarification went to the Attorney General, and we still await his response.”

Australian University Investigating Sociology Fellow for Calling for “End of Israel”

The Australian-based Macquarie University is investigating anti-Israel activist Randa Abdel-Fattah, a Future Fellow in the school’s sociology department, over comments calling for the “end of Israel.”

The university told The Daily Telegraph: “The university is aware of comments made on social media by a member of its staff that have caused concern and distress among some members of the community … Where there is found to be a breach of policy, the university will act to address the matter under its policies and procedures.” The Algemeiner noted that, among other things, Abdel-Fattah has stated on social media: “May 2025 be the end of Israel. May it be the end of the US-Israeli imperial scourge on humanity. May we see the abolishment of the death cult of Zionism and the end of US empire and finally a world where the slaughter, annihilation, and torture of Palestinians is no longer daily routine.” Abdel-Fattah has received an $802,000 grant for her research at the university, funded by tax dollars.