Gottheimer lauds cancellation of Rutgers convocation speech after controversial post

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) praised Rutgers University for canceling a convocation speech last week, criticizing the disinvited speaker, Rami Elghandour, for a social media post that Gottheimer deemed hateful, but which Elghandour said stemmed from a misunderstanding. 

Last week, the dean of Rutgers’ School of Engineering canceled a convocation address that biotech CEO Rami Elghandour had been set to deliver. Rutgers said Elghandour, an outspoken critic of Israel, had made an “inflammatory” statement about Israel, sparking concerns from some students. 

As Elghandour continued to disavow the cancellation of his speech on social media, he retweeted a post of the phrase “New Jewsy” on Friday evening; he also quote-tweeted the post with sun, bikini, and basket emojis. Gottheimer posted an image of the tweet, saying, “Rutgers made the right call kicking this graduation speaker to the curb.”

Elghandour responded to Gottheimer, saying the post was not meant as a pejorative. He said he thought the phrase was meant as a play on a Jersey-accented pronunciation of New Jersey (“New Joisy”), and that the emojis were meant to convey gym, tanning, and laundry, a phrase from the Jersey Shore reality show. Elghandour said the tweet was meant to be a “light moment in a heavy week,” and has since deleted the posts.

“I would never want the words or emojis I use online to be misconstrued, because I care about the humanity of all people, and protecting the safety and dignity of everyone,” Elghandour said in a statement to the New Jersey Globe. “Since my tweet caused confusion, I’d like to set the record straight — I am unflinchingly opposed to hatred and bigotry of all kinds. That’s exactly why I call out genocide, violence, and racism whenever I see it.”

Gottheimer, a moderate Democrat, is among the most vocal supporters of Israel in Congress. He similarly criticized Elghandour the day before, saying Rutgers “should not platform voices that promote hate.” And on Sunday, Gottheimer published an opinion piece in the New York Times criticizing other Democrats who have campaigned with left-wing figures that he considers anti-Semitic, like streamer Hasan Piker.  

While Gottheimer lauded the decision, others have denounced it. Leaders of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union called on Engineering Dean Alberto Cuitiño to reinstate Elghandour as the convocation speaker.

“This decision by the administration is a politically motivated suppression of expression that undermines rather than advances the free exchange of ideas on our campus, and clearly reflects a broader pattern of universities applying a Palestine exception to their stated commitments of free speech,” the unions’ statement read.

A petition demanding that Rutgers reinstate Elghandour has gained more than 36,000 signatures, and a coalition of student groups planned a protest for Monday afternoon. And the progressive non-profit Center for Constitutional Rights penned a letter to Rutgers officials, alleging that they had violated Elghandour’s First Amendment rights. 

Elghandour has said that he plans to record his planned speech and share it.