CAIR-NJ Denounces Stockton University’s Removal of Gaza, Myanmar Genocide Message from Website upon Donor Pressure
CAIR-NJ Denounces Stockton University’s Removal of Gaza, Myanmar Genocide Message from Website upon Donor Pressure
(NEWARK, NJ – 8/19/2026) – The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today denounced Stockton University’s decision to remove language from its website referring to the genocides in Gaza and Myanmar following donor pressure.
On August 2, Stockton University campus officials removed a section from the webpage of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies master’s program, which detailed statistics on Israel’s genocide on Gaza. Members of the campus community agree that the decision is connected to the University receiving a letter from a major donor to the university calling for the removal. The donor, John Scarpa, has two buildings named after him at the university’s main campus in Galloway township.
The removed message was written by professor Raz Segal a year ago, as part of his director’s message for the program. It informed about several genocides taking place around the world.
It read:
“Myanmar’s campaign of destruction against Rohingya Muslims since 2012 has pushed more than a million to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they live in extremely difficult conditions in the largest refugee camp in the world. Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza since October 2023 has killed, according to official figures, more than 70,000 Palestinians, including over 20,000 children, leaving almost the entire population of 2.3 million people forcibly displaced.”
Scarpa claimed in his letter to the university that the message contained mischaracterizations and factual inaccuracies regarding events in Gaza since 2023, along with disputed claims presented as fact which contributes to hostility toward Jews and supporters of Israel. On the same day Scarpa’s letter was sent, a university spokesperson reviewed the webpage and it was quietly removed a few days later.
Professor Raz Segal has since appealed to the public on Instagram to urge viewers to contact Stockton and demand the message be restored.
In a statement, CAIR-NJ Public Affairs Director Naureen Akhter said:
“Stockton University’s decision to erase language about genocide from its own Holocaust and Genocide Studies program, under pressure from a single donor, is a profound failure of academic integrity. No institution of higher learning should allow its scholarship to be compromised by financial interests. We call on Stockton to immediately restore Professor Segal’s message and reaffirm its commitment to academic freedom.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
END
CONTACT: Public Affairs Director Naureen Akhter, nakhter@cair.com, 908-921-1238
