BUZZ
Alumni ‘spotlight’ page called him an ‘impassioned champion of gender equity and social justice’
Rutgers University has canceled an engineering school alumnus’ convocation speech due to his “criticisms” of Israel on social media.
Rami Elghandour, a 2001 graduate and now-CEO of the biotechnology company Arcellx, is “an impassioned champion of gender equity and social justice,” a “sought-after guest lecturer, keynote speaker, and TEDx speaker on unconscious bias,” according to an alumni “spotlight” page.
The Daily Targum reports a university spokesperson cited “one specific ‘inflammatory'” anti-Israel post Elghandour wrote last month which “spurred student concern” over his coming appearance:
Forget a free ride. They’ve committed genocide. They’re running dungeons where they train dogs to sexually assault prisoners… Weapons embargo is the absolute minimum. Sanctions and diplomatic isolation are beyond justified. This we’ll sell them weapons won’t fly…
— Rami Elghandour (@RamiElghandour) April 20, 2026
Early this Saturday, Elghandour retweeted a post which referred to Israel “the WORST ‘state’ currently on planet earth”:
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Elghandour “frequently shares news articles and footage of violence in Gaza and the West Bank, along with his own commentary accusing Israel of committing war crimes and upholding a system of apartheid.”
According to the Rutgers spokesperson, School of Engineering Dean Alberto Cuitiño had noted “some graduating students would not attend their graduation ceremony due to concerns” over Elghandour’s posts.
The spokesperson added the decision to cancel the ceremony “keeps the focus on our engineering students and honors the celebratory spirit of the event to ensure that no graduate feels forced to choose between their personal convictions and a convocation ceremony.
“Convocation is a hard-earned milestone intended to celebrate the academic excellence of our graduates in a ceremony that can be enjoyed by all students and families.”
In a statement, the Rutgers American Association of University Professors called the cancellation a “politically motivated suppression of expression” that “clearly reflects a broader pattern of universities applying a Palestinian exception to their stated commitments to free speech.”
In his own statement on May 6, Elghandour said Rutgers officials decided that “the feelings of a handful of students […] 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.”
Elghandour ripped the school for “leading with his social justice advocacy […] until it was inconvenient,” and for invoking “consequences for being a humanitarian” and supporting “social justice and equality.”
He added he would soon record what he had planned to say at the convocation and post it to social media.
MORE: Georgetown Law replaces Jewish commencement speaker following student protest
