Rutgers disinvites commencement speaker for claiming Israelis 'train dogs to assault prisoners'

Rutgers University's decision to disinvite commencement speaker Rami Elghandour, as reported by the Jerusalem Post, highlights the increasingly fraught landscape of campus discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The university's administration cited an "inflammatory claim" made by Elghandour on social media—specifically, an accusation that Israelis "train dogs to sexually assault prisoners"—as the reason for rescinding the invitation.

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The Rutgers School of Engineering was recently informed that some graduating students would not attend their graduation ceremony due to concerns about the invited speaker’s social media posts, including one that shared an inflammatory claim.

This move, prompted by concerns from graduating students who felt the speaker's posts opposed their beliefs, has ignited a debate about free speech, academic freedom, and the boundaries of acceptable discourse. Elghandour, an alumnus and producer of an Oscar-nominated documentary about a Palestinian girl, decried the decision, arguing that Rutgers had capitulated to a vocal minority and undermined the experience of the entire graduating class, particularly Arab and Muslim students.

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After a ‘few’ students complained about my selection as speaker because of my social media advocacy for Palestine, Rutgers has canceled my speech.

From an Israeli perspective, as reflected in the Jerusalem Post's reporting, the university's action is a response to genuinely offensive and unsubstantiated claims that have circulated within certain pro-Palestinian circles. The article notes that the specific accusation about dog training has been amplified by some activists. While Elghandour frames it as a free speech issue and a blow to Palestinian advocacy, the university's justification centers on the inflammatory nature of the specific claim, suggesting a line was crossed that impacted the campus community's sense of belonging and the integrity of the commencement ceremony.

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They decided that the feelings of a handful of students who said that my social media posts ‘opposed their beliefs’, were more important than the experience of the entire graduating class, the reputation of the school, the dignity and belonging of Arab and Muslim students, and the First Amendment.