On Thursday, Rutgers University Hillel denounced a statement from Rutgers’ Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter and other pro Palestinian activist groups that criticized the administration’s funding of the campus Jewish organization as well as “investments in apartheid Israel.”

The statement — published Monday on Instagram by both SJP and Rutgers Mutual Aid, (RMA) a community organization unaffiliated with the university — followed Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)’s previous call for the university to condemn the “hate-filled misinformation” posed by an earlier faculty union statement on Israel.

The New Jersey Democrat had urged Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway to send a message of support to Jewish and pro-Israel students, following a statement from a school lecturers union that accused Israel of upholding “a regime of legalized racial discrimination perpetrated against the Palestinian people.”

In response to the statement, Rutgers Hillel said Thursday that it “appreciates the support Member of Congress Josh Gottheimer and Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway have shown to Jewish students.”

“Campuses have become increasingly hostile to Jewish life amid the national surge in antisemitic hatred, and it is more critical than ever to ensure universities foster an inclusive environment where Jewish and pro-Israel students can live and learn without fear of harassment or abuse,” the group said.