Rutgers Law Student Sues School, Claiming Discrimination

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — A Rutgers Law School student has sued the law school and Rutgers University overall, alleging that when he complained about a video he thought was antisemitic, Rutgers did not punish the student who shared the video, and instead retaliated against him.

The student is Yoel Ackerman, a first-year student at Rutgers Law School (located in Newark). He is Orthodox Jewish and two of his children were born in Israel. He filed the lawsuit Tuesday.

Ackerman said in the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, a fellow law student, identified only as J.A., shared this video in a group chat for the Rutgers Student Bar Association. There are more than 50 students in that group chat.

The video is entitled “3 lies being told about Palestine.” The video claims that no babies were beheaded in Hamas' attacks, no women were raped and nobody was killed at the outdoor music festival.

Ackerman said at least one other student, identified as M.A., put a heart emoji on the video, indicating they liked it and agreed with it.

The video is false, spreads misinformation and is antisemitic, said Ackerman in his lawsuit. He also interpreted it to be bullying and harassment against Jewish students.

Ackerman said he filed a complaint about the video. He received a letter from assistant dean Katherine Perez in response, saying his complaint did not meet the charges of bullying or harassment.

Ackerman said this communicated to him "it was 'open season' on Jews at Rutgers."

He also said Rutgers administration downplayed the severity of the Palestinian “Day of Resistance/Rage” on Oct. 30/31, because three of his professors "denied his request to appear in class virtually, based on his safety concerns as a Jew," read his lawsuit.

Ackerman said he took screenshots of the video posted by J.A. and "liked" by M.A., and emailed it to the Jewish Law Students’ Association, asking members of that group to share it. He said after he did that, he received an email from the SBA president (one of the leaders of the law school student body) accusing him of doxxing and harassing fellow students. He said the SBA president asked him to resign from the Student Bar Association.

He also said someone forwarded his email to Rutgers assistant dean Sarah Regina. He said she in turn forwarded that email to two other deans, where she wrote: “It appears we have a Jewish law student seeking to take and publish the names of those he deems to be supporting Hamas.”

Ackerman said M.A. and J.A. filed their own complaints against him for harassment. He also said assistant dean Perez launched an investigation into him for "defamation" and "disorderly conduct."

Ackerman has a disciplinary hearing scheduled for this Thursday, Jan. 4, and he is facing potential expulsion from Rutgers Law School.

He is seeking financial damages.

Ackerman said over the last several years, there has been an escalation of antisemitic incidents on university campuses — "yet (Rutgers) university continues to tolerate faculty members, guest speakers, groups and students that legitimize or endorse antisemitic expression and actions, whether overt or implicit."

Ackerman after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the climate at Rutgers Law School was such that he felt nervous to wear his yarmulke to class, and that other Jewish students reported having to hide their Jewish identity on campus.

A Rutgers spokeswoman said the school does not comment on litigation, and would not be responding to any of the specific allegations in Ackerman's complaint. However, spokeswoman Dory Devlin did say:

"Rutgers takes seriously claims of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of bias and intolerance. Any such claims are investigated and reviewed, and where appropriate, remedial or disciplinary actions are taken."

Pro-Palestine SJP Responds To Being Suspended By Rutgers (Dec. 13, 2023)

Congressman Asks Rutgers To Cancel Two Pro-Palestine Speakers (Dec. 7, 2023)