See No Evil! Rutgers Daily Targum Declines to Cover Rutgers Intelligence Unit’s Direct Involvement in Israel Genocide Support and Promoting Repression Against PACC and Other Genocide Opponents
Rutgers Daily Targum is the primary news outlet at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. This editor has reached out to the Rutgers Daily Targum staff with interest in the paper covering the explosive information about how a Rutgers intelligence unit has involved faculty and students directly in Israel genocide support work including promoting the TikTok ban in response to TikTok’s pivotal role of exposing the depravity of the US – Israel genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
This editor hereby accuses the Daily Targum of participating in a cover up of possibly the worse scandal in Rutgers History. Students at Rutgers have demanded divestment of Rutgers from Apartheid Israel and from weapons manufacturers. The student body of every Rutgers campus overwhelmingly voted for divestment. It is clear that Rutgers students are interested in issues concerning Rutgers connection to genocide.
Most Rutgers students DO NOT KNOW though that the university through its direct collaboration with the CIA and IDF is directly implicated in criminal genocide support. Rutgers is in direct collaboration with pro-Israel non-profit research cut outs set up to promote research in support of the US – Israel genocide project and repression of US citizens. The smearing lies being churned out of this intelligence unit at Rutgers has led to a wholesale smear attack by extreme right wing US Congress members on NJ’s beloved Palestinian-American Community Center in Clifton. It is clearly an issue of lack of transparency where the university is not keeping its student body informed of this direct connection to the genocide operation. The Rutgers Daily Targum was extended an offer by this editor to correct the lack of transparency but instead has decided to participate in an attempt to ignore the story.
In an e-mail from Rutgers Daily Targum edittor-in-chief Uju Nwanonyiri, the Targum editor stated:
“Thank you for reaching out! The Targum will politely decline this request for coverage.”
This editor has followed up with a request for the reason for declining coverage and will follow up. See the letters exchanged below.
Obviously the Daily Targum for whatever reason has determined that this news is not fit to be covered. It would be interesting to know if the Targum consulted with Rutgers administration about this decision and if any pressure came from the administration to decline so politely an offer for information about very criminal behavior in connection to a genocide for which there are indictments of Israeli officials by the International Court of Justice. Indeed there could be criminal culpability of the ICCAE intelligence unit and the Rutgers administration. It is also indeed possible that because of Rutgers insidious connection to Tel Aviv University – there is no longer a free press at Rutgers. That is the news today out of Rutgers and NJ tax payers can thank Rutgers relationship with Israel for the loss of a free press.
FightBackBetter anxiously awaits the explanation from the Rutgers Daily Targum of declining to cover this scandal and instead becoming part of it.
—–Original Message—–
From: Bob Witanek <bwitanek@igc.org>
Sent: Sep 25, 2025 10:43 AM
To: Uju Nwanonyiri <eic@dailytargum.com>, <news@dailytargum.com>, <university@dailytargum.com>, <oped@dailytargum.com>, <sports@dailytargum.com>, <insidebeat@dailytargum.com>, <socialmedia@dailytargum.com>, <copy@dailytargum.com>, <photo@dailytargum.com>, <video@dailytargum.com>, <graphicdesign@dailytargum.com>
Subject: Re: Follow Up – Phone Call Possible?: Special To Targum: RU Intelligence Unit Participated in TikTok Ban Push / Now Targeting Activists w/ Smear
I am going to write about your decline of coverage of this matter,
Journalist to journalist – I am asking for the reason for your declining coverage.
—–Original Message—–
From: Uju Nwanonyiri <eic@dailytargum.com>
Sent: Sep 25, 2025 9:44 AM
To: Bob Witanek <bwitanek@igc.org>, news@dailytargum.com <news@dailytargum.com>, university@dailytargum.com <university@dailytargum.com>, oped@dailytargum.com <oped@dailytargum.com>, sports@dailytargum.com <sports@dailytargum.com>, insidebeat@dailytargum.com <insidebeat@dailytargum.com>, socialmedia@dailytargum.com <socialmedia@dailytargum.com>, copy@dailytargum.com <copy@dailytargum.com>, photo@dailytargum.com <photo@dailytargum.com>, video@dailytargum.com <video@dailytargum.com>, graphicdesign@dailytargum.com <graphicdesign@dailytargum.com>
Subject: Re: Follow Up – Phone Call Possible?: Special To Targum: RU Intelligence Unit Participated in TikTok Ban Push / Now Targeting Activists w/ Smear
Good morning,
Thank you for reaching out! The Targum will politely decline this request for coverage.
Best,
| Uju Nwanonyiri Editor-in-Chief |
| 613 George St. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 |
From: Bob Witanek <bwitanek@igc.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 4:10 PM
To: news@dailytargum.com <news@dailytargum.com>; university@dailytargum.com <university@dailytargum.com>; oped@dailytargum.com <oped@dailytargum.com>; sports@dailytargum.com <sports@dailytargum.com>; insidebeat@dailytargum.com <insidebeat@dailytargum.com>; socialmedia@dailytargum.com <socialmedia@dailytargum.com>; copy@dailytargum.com <copy@dailytargum.com>; photo@dailytargum.com <photo@dailytargum.com>; video@dailytargum.com <video@dailytargum.com>; graphicdesign@dailytargum.com <graphicdesign@dailytargum.com>; eic@dailytargum.com <eic@dailytargum.com>
Subject: Follow Up – Phone Call Possible?: Special To Targum: RU Intelligence Unit Participated in TikTok Ban Push / Now Targeting Activists w/ Smear
Hello,
Following up on this – it is really a challenge to get the attention of media – so I am hoping we can talk via phone – for a few minutes – perhaps an editor or reporter can call back at least to consider this information?
My number is 908 881 5275 – is there another way to get through to the newsroom? If I came to your office would I be able to talk to a reporter or editor about this?
Thank you!
Bob WItanek Editor FightBackBetter.com
—–Original Message—–
From: Bob Witanek <bwitanek@igc.org>
Sent: Sep 23, 2025 12:24 PM
To: <news@dailytargum.com>, <university@dailytargum.com>, <oped@dailytargum.com>, <sports@dailytargum.com>, <insidebeat@dailytargum.com>, <socialmedia@dailytargum.com>, <copy@dailytargum.com>, <photo@dailytargum.com>, <video@dailytargum.com>, <graphicdesign@dailytargum.com>, <eic@dailytargum.com>
Subject: Special To Targum: RU Intelligence Unit Participated in TikTok Ban Push / Now Targeting Activists w/ Smear
Dear Targum staff,
Please be aware that through its intelligence unit (ICCAE and affiliates) Rutgers has played a role in extending genocide in Gaza. Rutgers ICCAE was instrumental in providing false narrative information to attack TikTok and help promote a ban because of TikTok reporting and livestreaming the US – Israel genocide. Indeed the actions of Rutgers helped slow awareness of genocide!
Now Rutgers intelligence department is creating smearing information – false – that is fueling fascists from southern states to call for investigations and sanctions on activist organizations and the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton NJ which serves the US’s largest Palestinian community in the Clifton / Paterson area. Students for Justice in Palestine and many other groups with members and supporters in NJ are named in the smearing letter which sources documents produced by spy led faculty and students at Rutgers.
This is bombshell – you need to investigate reveal and expose in the Watergate style – old fashioned muckrake reporting!
Here is the lead and if you need help digging let me know but this link opens the path to this investigation for you – you will break the story here and it will break higher if you move it – a journalist experience that writers should appreciate!
https://fightbackbetter.com/ru-iccae-mccarthy-smear-letter/
Sincerely, Bob Witanek, Cook College 82 Editor fightbackbetter.com
LETTER TO JOURNALISM PROFESSORS AT RUTGERS:
I am writing to you to suggest this as a possible lesson for your students about journalism and ethics. I am editor of FIghtBackBetter a micro focused news site covering primarily NJ’s opposition to genocide and recently expanded to cover opposition to ICE, repression, free speech attacks, threats of occupation and fascist elements that are arising.
I reached out to the Daily Targum about an exclusive we have covered about Rutgers through its ICCAE and related intelligence units engaging Rutgers professors and students doing direct work to promote pro-Israel analysis. The information assisted efforts to ban TikTok over its exposure of Israel genocide. The information is now being used by fascist extremists in congress to create repressive narrative targeting among other things, NJ’s beloved Palestinian-American Community Center in Clifton which serves the US’s largest Palestinian American community enclave. The fascist letters also targeted 18 other organizations and promoted economic sanction against these American based organizations.
You are the journalism professors – did you know about this? Do you believe the journalist’s role should be to cover this matter up? Do you believe that Rutgers relationship to Tel Avivi University, its ties to intelligence and its operational role in support of genocide is a matter that should be concealed for some business motive Rutgers might have?
I am suggesting that if you cover journalistic ethics you can consider using this example to explore if there are legitimate reasons to pan such an important story (in this editor’s opinion). If they researched it and found the information baseless that would be one thing but they did not tell me that. I would also suggest that out of curiosity you consider looking into this and perhaps even assign some students – obviously I disagree with Targum and believe the story should be covered. If nobody else will publish their research, reach out to me at Editor@FightBackBetter.com and I can cover it.
Also you might find the role of Rutgers in promoting the TikTok ban objectionable as the TikTok users were in the role of journalism exposing the worst genocidal crimes and helped wake up the world. Rutgers actively operated in support of the press censorship actions against the TikTok outlet – another possible ethics question for your classes.
Targum Rejects Coverage
Rutgers Role in Repression and TikTok Ban Advocacy
Letter Attacking PACC Revealed
Thank you for your attention.
Bob Witanek,
