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The Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University in New Jersey was broken into and vandalized overnight, days after anti-Israel agitators disrupted a town hall and police had to remove Jewish students.
A video posted online by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) shows broken glass on the ground, as well as damage to televisions, printers and artwork with Quranic verses.
“This reprehensible act, occurring on our holy day, is undoubtedly fueled by Islamophobia and is clearly a hate crime directed at our Muslim population at Rutgers,” a CILRU statement read.
A Palestinian flag was torn from a flagpole, said Imam Kaiser Aslam of CILRU, who shared a video of the aftermath of the theft. The vandalism occurred sometime between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, the Rutgers Police Department said.
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No one was in the building at the time, police said. The incident occurred on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday that follows the fasting month of Ramadan.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said he was “disgusted” to learn of the incident.
“There is a criminal investigation underway and we are working with Rutgers and law enforcement to ensure the safety of our Muslim students. Islamophobia has NO place in New Jersey,” he wrote on X.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said he was aware of the vandalism. He said “acts of hate against the Muslim community” will not be tolerated. Platkin said his office was working with Rutgers police, New Jersey State Police, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Division of Criminal Justice and the Division of Civil Rights to investigate the matter.
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“We will continue to work tirelessly, using every tool at our disposal to ensure that all New Jerseyans live free of fear, knowing that our state’s diversity is supported, protected and accepted,” he said.
The incident came days after anti-Israel agitators disrupted a public meeting at the university last week, prompting President Jonathan Holloway to end the session early.
One student told Fox News Digital that police had to remove Jewish students from the event.
The town hall was organized by the Rutgers University Student Assembly, which had also put to a vote two BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) referendums on severing ties with Tel Aviv University and divesting from everything related to Israel.
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“It’s been a tough couple of months since October 7th at Rutgers,” Joe Gindi, a Jewish student who attended the town hall, told Fox News Digital. “I wasn’t prepared for a protest. No Jewish students brought signs or flags, no Jewish students yelled or anything like that or disrupted the event. We were just there to listen to a town hall.”
Rutgers police have not released a description of any suspects connected to the vandalism of the Islamic Center on campus.
Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
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