A member of the New Jersey legislature wants to hold up state aid to Princeton University until he gets a detailed explanation of what the private, Ivy League institution is doing to combat antisemitism.
Bob Singer, a Jewish Republican state senator whose district includes Lakewood and its large population of Orthodox Jews, told JNS that he wants university officials to show him that they are adequately addressing Jew-hatred on campus.
“I have a responsibility to make sure Jewish students not only get a quality education but are protected,” he said. “Let them prove those accusations are wrong. If they can show that, we can continue the aid.”
Princeton officials declined to comment on Singer’s comments when asked by JNS.
Singer is also the lead state Senate Republican sponsor of bipartisan legislation requiring New Jersey to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) ’s widely adopted working definition of antisemitism.
That legislation has yet to reach the floor in either house.
The Anti-Defamation League gave Princeton a “D” grade this year in its assessment of how well institutions of higher education are dealing with antisemitism, which exploded on college campuses as students and others sided with the Palestinians after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The ADL report found that the university has hosted antisemitic speakers and that campus protests have included calls for the destruction of Israel while embracing Hamas.
Fliers posted on campus in September 2024 read “Death to ‘Israel,’” “Tel Aviv will burn” and “We support Hamas,” the ADL said.
“This is beyond disgrace,” Singer told JNS. “Students should have the right to learn in safety and security. That is the responsibility of any institution. If they don’t feel that way about it, don’t take state money. Don’t take federal money.”
‘Will comply with the law’
In a survey accompanying an annual “state of the university” letter in January from Christopher Eisgruber, the Princeton president, 69% of Jewish students rated their experience at the university as “excellent” in 2024, compared with 41% in 2021.
The same number (88%) agreed with the statement, “I feel safe on this campus,” as in 2023, according to that survey.
Princeton received $2.6 million from New Jersey in 2023-24 and $3.3 million in the current fiscal year, Singer told JNS.
That’s a pittance compared to the $455 million in federal funding that went to Princeton during 2023-24, according to a report from the university treasurer.
The Trump administration suspended $210 million in federal research grants to Princeton this month, citing Jew-hatred.
“Princeton University will comply with the law,” Eisgruber wrote earlier this month in a campus memo. “We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism.”
“Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this university,” he added.
