NEW JERSEY — Stockton University officials removed language from the Holocaust and genocide studies program website that referred to mass casualties in Gaza as a genocide. The removal occurred two days after Stockton donor John F. Scarpa sent a letter to Stockton President Joe Bertolino on July 31 complaining about the website content.

The text was located in the "message from the director" section of the program’s website, which is led by Raz Segal. The removed text stated: "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." The text also listed contemporary examples of bloodshed and displacement in Myanmar, Ukraine, and Sudan. Stockton officials deleted the text two days after receiving John F. Scarpa's letter, and the removal occurred on a Sunday with no prior notice. Other materials, including posts on current events and the program’s mission statement, were also deleted from the site.

Stockton officials stated the changes were part of an ongoing effort to review and revise "the layout and content of graduate program webpages." A Stockton spokesperson stated: "Donors do not have decision-making authority over Stockton’s academic or institutional decisions." The spokesperson added: "Like faculty, students, alumni and other members of the University community, donors may express their views." The spokesperson further stated: "Decisions remain with University leadership and Stockton’s established governance processes." John F. Scarpa earned a fortune in telecommunications and has made significant donations to colleges and conservative causes.

Stockton President Joe Bertolino and board chair José Lozano acknowledged the incident had raised "serious concerns" on campus about academic freedom, shared governance, and communication. "We may not all agree about what belongs on an official University webpage," they wrote. "But we can say this plainly: the process used in this instance should have included more consultation and better communication with the academic units involved." Stockton University vowed to launch a review of the policies and practices around creating webpage content.

Raz Segal criticized the removal. "This is clearly the university caving to crude donor interference," Segal said. Segal is Jewish, Israeli, and has grandparents who survived the Holocaust.

He argued that John F. Scarpa is weaponizing the discourse about antisemitism "in the service of genocide denial." Segal stated that leading scholars in Holocaust studies have sent multiple emails to the university supporting him. "It’s really playing this game of good Jew–bad Jew, which is exactly what went on in Minnesota," he said. "Good Jews are Zionists, good Jews support Israel, and if you don’t then you’re a bad Jew." he added: "And playing the good Jew–bad Jew game, as we know, is very real antisemitism." Jennifer S. Higgins, AFT New Jersey President, stated: "Our public universities must remain an environment for open and free discourse among our students and faculty." Higgins also stated: "Allowing donors to dictate what speech or debate is allowable on campus is inappropriate, counterproductive and deeply un-American."

The International Association of Genocide Scholars voted last year to declare that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide detailed in the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Israel has rejected allegations that it is committing genocide in Gaza. In 2024, Raz Segal was offered a role as director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

The University of Minnesota revoked Raz Segal's job offer. Public records obtained by the Center for Constitutional Rights contain emails from University of Minnesota donors taking issue with Raz Segal’s writings. Raz Segal won a $250,000 settlement from the University of Minnesota last month. Stockton University is a university in Galloway Township, New Jersey, United States, established in 1969.