Rutgers Axes Graduation Speaker over Vicious Anti-Israel Social Media Posts
Rutgers University has withdrawn its convocation keynote invitation to biotech CEO Rami Elghandour following student protests over his anti-Israel social media posts. The university cited a desire to maintain a celebratory atmosphere for graduates, while Elghandour condemned the decision as a blow to free speech.
Rutgers University has withdrawn its invitation to biotech entrepreneur Rami Elghandour to speak at its School of Engineering convocation after students objected to his anti-Israel social media posts.
Elghandour, a Rutgers alumnus (ENG’01) and chairman and CEO of Arcellx, had been scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the May 15 convocation ceremony.
Rutgers spokesperson Megan Florance said some engineering students threatened to skip the graduation over posts they found offensive, including comments about Israel and the war in Gaza.
In one April 20 post on X, Elghandour called for sanctions on Israel, accusing it of genocide, war crimes, and abuses against prisoners. Florance stated that the decision prioritizes students and the celebratory nature of the event.
“This decision keeps the focus on our engineering students and honors the celebratory spirit of the event to ensure that no graduate feels forced to choose between their personal convictions and a convocation ceremony,” Florance said.
Elghandour condemned the university’s action on Wednesday, saying Rutgers caved to the objections of “a handful of students” over the interests of the broader graduating class, including Arab and Muslim students, and at the expense of free speech.
Elghandour has frequently posted pro-Palestinian commentary online, accusing Israel of war crimes, and served as executive producer of the rabidly anti-Israel documentary The Voice of Hind Rajab.
This is not the first time Rutgers has faced controversy over commencement speakers. In 2014, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice withdrew as a speaker following protests over the Iraq War. Last year, actor and comedian Ramy Youssef faced calls to be removed as Rutgers-Newark commencement speaker over his support for Palestinians but ultimately spoke and received an honorary degree.
The university had announced Elghandour as the speaker in mid-April. Dean Alberto Cuitiño had praised his selection at the time.