The 2024 Senate Inquiry: Extremist Ties and “Terrorist Sympathizers” at CSRR

In February 2024, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Ranking Member Senator Lindsey Graham and nine other Republican members, launched a formal inquiry into the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR). The committee’s letter to Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway didn’t just request information; it leveled a series of staggering allegations, characterizing the center as a platform for individuals with direct ties to foreign terrorist organizations.

The Primary Allegations: Platforming Radicalism

The Senate Committee’s primary concern is that CSRR uses its academic standing and public funding to “legitimize violence” and provide a stage for “terrorist sympathizers.” The inquiry highlighted several key incidents and affiliations:

1. The 9/11 Anniversary Controversy

The Committee specifically targeted a 2021 CSRR event titled “Whose Narrative? 20 Years since September 11, 2001.” * The Allegation: The event blamed “U.S. imperialism” for the 9/11 attacks and featured Sami Al-Arian, a former professor convicted of conspiring to provide material support to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

• The Bipartisan Backlash: The Senate letter noted that even Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer condemned the event, calling it “unconscionable” to provide a platform to those affiliated with a militant terrorist group on a day meant to honor 9/11 victims.

2. Post-October 7 Rhetoric

The Senate inquiry heavily scrutinized CSRR’s immediate reaction to the October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel.

• The Event: Just three days after the attacks, CSRR hosted “Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine.”
• The Content: Speaker and faculty affiliate Dr. Lara Sheehi reportedly opened the talk by stating that “Zionist settler colonialism is a structure that is the provocation,” a statement critics argue justifies mass violence as a predictable response to “structures.”
• The Massad Connection: The inquiry also flagged a December 2023 event featuring Professor Joseph Massad, who had previously described the October 7 attacks in “jubilant” terms.

The “Racial Muslim” Doctrine and Antisemitism

The Committee’s letter took direct aim at Sahar Aziz, stating that as Director, she “regularly and publicly espouses vile anti-Semitic propaganda.”

• Evidence Cited: The Senators pointed to Aziz’s social media activity, specifically a repost claiming that “Israel & its MSM accomplices are making up so many outrageous lies [about rapes and beheaded babies] to distract from its carnage in Gaza!”
• The Faculty Manifesto: Aziz was also cited for signing a May 2021 letter declaring herself “in awe of the Palestinian struggle to resist,” which the Committee interprets as an endorsement of armed conflict against civilians.

Financial Scrutiny: Taxpayer Dollars and Foreign Influence

A major component of the 2024 inquiry is the “organizational and financial backing” of the center. The Committee is probing three specific areas:

1. Federal Funding: Are U.S. taxpayer dollars directly or indirectly supporting a center that platforms terrorist sympathizers?
2. Foreign Governments: The Senate requested all records of donations or “indirect support” from foreign governments or entities.
3. Private Law Firm Donors: The Committee sent a separate letter to the law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, questioning their $13,000 donation to a program that provides students with “one-on-one mentorship” from Professor Aziz.

Why the Inquiry Matters for Academic Accountability

While supporters of CSRR claim the inquiry is an assault on “academic freedom,” the Senate Judiciary Committee argues that academic freedom is not a license to promote terrorism.

The inquiry suggests that CSRR has moved beyond the bounds of a traditional research institute. By hosting convicted terrorists and celebratory rhetoric regarding civilian massacres, the center is accused of using the “Rutgers” brand to provide a veneer of academic respectability to radical ideologies that would otherwise be marginalized.