Academic Position at Rutgers University
Sahar F. Aziz serves as a Distinguished Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar. She teaches national security law, civil rights, and critical race theory. Her academic focus centers on how counterterrorism policies allegedly target Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities, often framing national security law through a lens of systemic racial bias.
Statements on "Resistance" vs. Terrorism
Aziz has been accused by critics of using academic language to sanitize or "honor" acts of political violence, particularly following the events of October 7, 2023.
On October 30, 2023, Aziz posted on social media:
“The world would rather show solidarity with corpses than honor resistance.”
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and organizations argue this rhetoric blurs the line between legitimate protest and terrorism. Critics point out that "honoring resistance" just weeks after a mass casualty event targeting civilians mirrors the language used by designated terrorist organizations to refame atrocities as "liberation."
The 2021 Manifesto: Aziz signed a Rutgers faculty letter stating:
“The demand to center Israel’s right to ‘self-defense’ erases the colonial context and delegitimizes the Palestinian right to resistance...”
• AMCHA Initiative and other watchdogs argue that by delegitimizing "self-defense" during periods of indiscriminate rocket fire, Aziz and her colleagues provide intellectual cover for groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Rhetoric on Jewish Identity & "White Privilege"
Aziz’s framework frequently applies Critical Race Theory to the Jewish community, which critics claim erases Jewish history and endangers Jewish students.
During public discussions, Aziz has stated regarding American Jews:
“They are privileged vis-à-vis their Muslim, their Palestinian, their Arab counterparts... with privilege comes responsibility and not the abuse of that privilege to oppress other people.”
The Deborah Project and the New Jersey School Ethics Commission complainants argue that framing Jews primarily through "racial power constructs" like "white privilege" or "white fragility" ignores thousands of years of persecution. Critics claim this narrative paints Jewish students as "oppressors" by default, contributing to a hostile and exclusionary campus climate.
The "Zionism as Nazism" Controversy
A significant portion of the criticism stems from alleged comparisons between Jewish national movements and historical atrocities.
Complaints filed with the NJ School Ethics Commission alleged that Aziz used "Nazi analogies" in discussions of Zionism and retweets content that describes Israel as a "colonialist project" akin to apartheid regimes.
The Commission’s Finding: While the complaint was dismissed on procedural grounds (speech not tied to her Board of Ed role), the Commission issued a stinging rebuke, stating:
“[Her] remarks were likely to be perceived as offensive and hurtful to Jewish communities.”
Advocacy groups argue her rhetoric violates the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, specifically by "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor" and using "symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism."
"Hindutva in America" & Hinduphobia
Aziz’s expansion into South Asian politics has led to a new wave of criticism from Hindu American student groups.
The CSRR Report: “Hindutva in America: A Threat to Equality and Religious Pluralism”
The report characterizes Hindutva as a "supremacist ideology" and calls for federal authorities to investigate U.S.-based Hindu groups as "proxies" for foreign entities.
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and student group Rutgers CYAN argue Aziz fails to distinguish between the religion of Hinduism and the political ideology of Hindutva. At a 2025 protest, students held signs stating "AMERICAN HINDUS ARE NOT FOREIGN AGENTS," accusing Aziz of "othering" Hindu students and fueling "systemic Hindu hate" under the guise of academic research.