Jewish Faculty, Administration, and Staff (J-FAS)

October 11, 2023

To Jewish Colleagues and Students at Rutgers: 

Our university boasts one of the largest Jewish populations of any in the country, with many thousands of Jewish students, faculty, staff members, and administrators. In the wake of the horrific terrorist invasion of Israel on October 7, 2024—the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah—many of these thousands of Jews at Rutgers, along with Jews across academia and throughout the world, feel isolated and abandoned, as if our people and our safety were expendable. Already, elements within universities, including ours, are attempting to justify Hamas’s brutality, drawing moral equivalencies that defy reasoned comprehension, or simply looking the other way.  

We are sharing this open letter to make sure that Jews at Rutgers know they are not alone. Student organizations such as Hillel, Chabad, Rutgers Jewish Experience, and AEPi have united to show solidarity with one another and with our brothers and sisters in Israel, and they provide places for students to grieve, find comfort, connect with one another, and advocate for our collective needs. Faculty, staff, and administrators are welcome to contact us to join meetings of JFAS (Jewish Faculty, Administrators, and Staff), an informal group that seeks to bring together Jews at the university and communicate with the administration about our concerns.  

As we look ahead, we stand with all members of the Jewish community at Rutgers in praying for peace, comfort and healing for the victims of this horrific attack, the homecoming of captives, and a swift, just resolution to this terrible conflict.  

Rebecca Cypess 

David Greenberg 

Jenny Mandelbaum 

Co-Chairs, Rutgers JFAS (Jewish Faculty, Administrators, and Staff) 

June 9, 2021

The Jewish Faculty, Administration, and Staff group (J-FAS) emphatically condemns the alarming rise in antisemitic incidents and rhetoric locally, across the United States, and around the world. At our own university, we are seeing an alarming escalation of divisive rhetoric that seeks to undermine connections between colleagues and equivocal statements that effectively excuse antisemitism. Yet we are convinced that these statements do not reflect the opinions of the vast majority of faculty, staff, and administrators at Rutgers. As members of a scholarly community, we are committed to education about the long history, insidious nature, and devastating effects of antisemitism. As we have done for several years, we will continue to collaborate with the university administration to assist in ensuring that Rutgers provides a safe and supportive environment for Jews and for all people.

Jewish Faculty, Administration, and Staff (JFAS)
Rutgers JFAS is a grassroots group of Jewish employees of Rutgers that combats antisemitism as well as anti-Israel bias and promotes a positive, supportive environment for Jews on campus. We cultivate relationships with non-Jewish allies, university leaders, off-campus partners such as Rutgers Hillel and Chabad at Rutgers, and external entities such local Jewish Federations and state legislators, with the goal of ensuring that all members of the Rutgers Jewish community are welcomed, supported, and fairly treated in their educational and workplace environment.

Mission
Rutgers JFAS exists to forge connections among Jewish faculty, administrators, and staff at Rutgers University, to address and mitigate the effects of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias on our campuses, and to help create a positive, supportive campus climate characterized by reasonableness, collegiality, and intellectual diversity.

Vision
A positive, supportive climate at Rutgers University that is welcoming and supportive of Jews and their allies along with all other groups, that is free of antisemitism, anti-Israel bias, and other forms of bigotry, and that encourages reasonableness, collegiality, and intellectual diversity.

Contact
Rutgers JFAS welcomes all Rutgers faculty, administrators, and staff aligned with our mission – Jews and non-Jews alike – from across our many schools, departments, and campuses. To subscribe to our mailing list and/or request to join our online discussion forum, please visit our Contact page. Or, feel free to email us directly at Rutgersjfas@gmail.com.

J-FAS (Jewish Faculty, Administration, and Staff) Advisory Board