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Faculty members at Rutgers University in New Jersey on Thursday were among those condemning the school’s decision to rescind an invitation to Rami Elghandour, a biotech executive and producer of the Gaza-focused film The Voice of Hind Rajab, who had been invited to speak at the School of Engineering commencement next week.

Elghandour said the engineering school’s dean, Alberto Cuitiño, had informed him that he was no longer scheduled to give the commencement address after a “few” students told the administration they would not attend the graduation in protest of Elghandour’s online advocacy for Palestinian rights.

“Commencement season is here, and with it the usual cycle of silencing voices that stand up for human rights,” said Waheed U. Bajwa, a professor at Rutgers in New Brunswick. “This one hits close to home… I publicly call on Rutgers to reverse this!”

Elghandour, a graduate of the engineering school, released a statement saying that the school had “decided that the feelings of a handful of students who said that my social media posts ‘opposed their beliefs’ were more important than the experience of the entire graduating class, the reputation of the school, the dignity and belonging of Arab and Muslim students, and the First Amendment.”

I love Rutgers and it’s disappointing and heartbreaking to see it abandon its students and its ideals. My full statement. pic.twitter.com/k1cEXlkY2j— Rami Elghandour (@RamiElghandour) May 6, 2026

I love Rutgers and it’s disappointing and heartbreaking to see it abandon its students and its ideals. My full statement. pic.twitter.com/k1cEXlkY2j

Speaking to the New Jersey Globe, a spokesperson for the university cited a specific post that Elghandour wrote in April on the social media........

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