A motion has been filed to hold Rutgers, its law school and administrators in contempt of court for failing to abide by a protective order that prohibits them from seeking information about code of conduct actions for which they are being sued by an Orthodox student.
The motion was filed in Essex County Superior Court on behalf of Yoel Ackerman, a first-year law student who has since transferred out of the Newark law school. He faced possible expulsion for allegedly doxxing a pro-Palestinian student he claimed was circulating “hateful, intimidating” antisemitic misinformation about the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. Ackerman has enrolled in Florida International College of Law in Miami for the fall semester.
He claimed the university is conducting a “witch hunt” against him for allegedly defaming a Palestinian student who shared an Instagram video with misinformation about Israel with the Student Bar Association (SBA).
The incident resulted in the SBA being suspended and then reinstated after it tried to toss Ackerman out and triggered an investigation by the university involving claims and counterclaims from students, including an investigation of Ackerman.
The suit alleges the school subjected Ackerman to discrimination and retaliation and permitted a hostile school environment. The video Ackerman shared appeared in the SBA group chat and contended that Hamas did not commit the atrocities or murder the 1,200 civilians on October 7 and that Israel “staged” the massacre.
In addition to Rutgers and its law school, the motion names as defendants: Katherine Perez, an assistant dean at the law school; Erica D. Williams, assistant vice chancellor of student affairs and dean of students at Rutgers-Newark; Sarah Regina, associate dean for student affairs at the law school; Johanna Bond, law school dean; and unnamed others.
The motion charges that authorities tried to impose discipline on Ackerman that “blatantly violated” the protective order, which had been issued May 7 by Judge Stephen L. Petrillo, including seeking to compel him to write a letter of apology.
The protective order prevents school administrators from asking Ackerman any questions or compelling him to produce any information about subjects alleged in his suit or “collateral issues” arising from his complaint or allegations in the suit until they are obtained in discovery, or exchange between parties about the witnesses or evidence they will present at trial.
“Rutgers seeks to compel Mr. Ackerman to provide admissions which will be harmful to his claims in this case and not allow him to offer any statements which may support his claims,” reads the motion.
The suit was filed on Ackerman’s behalf by the Roseland law firm of Mazie Slater Katz Freeman and is now being handled by it and the Voorhees law firm of Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinis.
The latest filing notes the school took “no measures to protect Jewish students and/or any action to discipline the law students who disseminated and endorsed the antisemitic video, whose actions clearly violated the SBA Constitution, bylaws, Rutgers’ Code of Conduct.” Rather, “the sole focus of Rutgers and its Law School was Plaintiff’s conduct in exposing antisemitism.”
Ackerman was reported by administrators or faculty to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSC) under the purview of Perez and Williams, with Perez initiating a prosecution against Ackerman alleging he engaged in “defamation” and “disorderly conduct” as outlined by the code of conduct. She later added a third charge, “bullying, intimidation and “harassment,” and recommended the matter should move forward into disciplinary hearings. However. the suit claims that is “unlawful retaliation” as defined in state law and that no investigation was ever conducted into the allegations against pro-Palestinian students who shared the “false, antisemitic” video.
An administrative conference was held June 20 with Childerick Barthelus, OSC assistant director of off-campus and organizational conduct for Rutgers-New Brunswick, who issued a July 2 finding that Ackerman was “responsible” for two of the three charges: defamation and bullying, threatening and harassment.
Sanctions imposed on Ackerman were: a one-year disciplinary probation without conditions, compelling him to attend a conflict-management workshop and writing a paper of no less than 250 words after completing the workshop.
However, the motion alleges the workshop compels Ackerman to have an “interactive conversation” with someone either from Rutgers or acting on their behalf outside the presence of counsel. His attorneys believe the “conversation” will concern subject matter that is the focus of the lawsuit and/or collateral issues, violating the protective order.
Additionally, the essay is required to include: what Ackerman has learned from the experience; reflections on the program’s materials and offerings; a summary of the information presented and discussed; what was familiar and new and what resonated most with him; an explanation of what he would do differently if placed in the same situation again; and what measures he could incorporate into his daily life to minimize future occurrences.
“Even worse, within this essay, Rutgers precludes Mr. Ackerman from “justify[ing] [his] own actions or evaluate the actions of others,” states the motion. It asks the court to prevent Rutgers from compelling Ackerman to attend the workshop and submitting an essay, and to award him monetary damages.
“This latest conduct by Rutgers is yet another example of discrimination and retaliation that Mr. Ackerman has been subjected to at Rutgers,” said a statement from the firms, which are concerned any disciplinary action will appear on Ackerman’s permanent record. “Mr. Ackerman categorically rejects Rutgers’s decision to punish him for speaking out against antisemitism and we will continue to fight to clear his name.”
Debra Rubin has had a long career in journalism writing for secular weekly and daily newspapers and Jewish publications. She most recently served as Middlesex/Monmouth bureau chief for the New Jersey Jewish News. She also worked with the media at several nonprofits, including serving as assistant public relations director of HIAS and assistant director of media relations at Yeshiva University.
