Identity of Speakers
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Rami Elghandour’
Unaffiliated
Invited for non-academic lectureRutgers University alumnus and biotechnology executive.
Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
University-sponsored lecture/address/panel
Rally or protest
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
Rally or Protests
Other
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Did not involve Speech Codes
Summary
On May 6, 2026, Rutgers University rescinded alumnus Rami Elghandour’s invitation to deliver the Rutgers School of Engineering commencement address after students raised concerns about his social media posts criticizing Israel. Rutgers said some graduating students had indicated they would not attend the May 15 ceremony if Elghandour spoke. The university stated that, after discussing the concerns with Elghandour, the School of Engineering decided to withdraw the invitation because commencement was intended to celebrate graduates and students should not have to choose between attending the ceremony and their views about the invited speaker.
Elghandour had been selected as the commencement speaker after Rutgers highlighted his work as a scientist, entrepreneur, and humanitarian advocate. He had served as executive producer of The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film about the death of a Palestinian child during the Israel-Gaza war. On April 20, 2026, Elghandour posted on social media in response to a post by Rep. Ro Khanna about U.S. policy toward Israel. In that post, Elghandour accused Israel of committing “genocide” and made allegations regarding the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. Rutgers later cited the post as including an “inflammatory claim” that prompted concerns from students.
Following the decision, Elghandour criticized the university’s action, saying Rutgers had invited him because of his professional and humanitarian work but withdrew the invitation because of his views on the Israel Gaza war. He said he had not planned to discuss the conflict during his commencement remarks and stated that he would release a recorded version of the speech he intended to deliver.
On May 12, 2026, the Rutgers University Senate adopted a resolution criticizing the decision to rescind Elghandour’s invitation and calling for greater transparency in decisions involving commencement speakers. The resolution stated that the university had previously highlighted Elghandour’s humanitarian work and expressed concern about withdrawing an invitation after objections to his political speech. In May 2026, Rutgers faculty and students debated the decision, with some criticizing the rescission as a response to protected expression and others raising concerns about Elghandour’s statements about Israel and whether he was an appropriate commencement speaker.
