A New Jersey Superior Court judge has denied a motion by Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the university engaged in antisemitic discrimination and retaliation against a Jewish professor.

The ruling marks a significant legal victory for the plaintiff, Ira Jaskoll, an adjunct professor and former volunteer Jewish chaplain at the school, who filed the suit last September. The court’s decision allows the case to proceed to discovery, rejecting the university’s attempt to have the claims thrown out early in the legal process.

In an exclusive statement to Belaaz, legal scholar Marc Goldfeder, who is representing the plaintiff along with the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) and Rothbort Law, praised the court for distinguishing this case from other recent rulings that have shielded universities.

“Thank God this court became the first to reject the First Circuit’s flawed, nonprecedential reasoning and call antisemitism what it is: Hateful, wrong, and potentially unlawful, even when it hides behind the veil of ‘anti-Zionism,’” Goldfeder told Belaaz.

Goldfeder highlighted the broader legal implications of the decision on social media, noting that the judge explicitly rejected FDU’s attempt to use a recent decision involving MIT by the First Circuit Court of Appeals as a shield against liability.

“The judge DENIED FDU’s motion to dismiss—and rejected FDU’s attempt to use the First Circuit’s MIT decision as a get-out-of-liability card for antisemitic discrimination,” Goldfeder wrote on X.

The ruling signals that New Jersey courts may take a stricter stance on how universities handle anti-Zionist rhetoric when it crosses the line into discriminatory conduct against Jewish staff and students.

The lawsuit began in September 2025, when Jaskoll alleged that the private university suspended him from his volunteer chaplaincy role after he protested an on-campus event. According to the complaint, a speaker at the event accused Israel of committing “genocide” and operating an “apartheid” state.

Jaskoll reportedly stood up during the event to tell the audience that the rhetoric was discriminatory against Jews. He was subsequently told to leave the premises. Following the incident, the university allegedly suspended him from his volunteer role and conditioned his return on an apology.

Despite the conflict, Jaskoll has remained listed as a faculty member.

FDU is known in the Jewish community for its “yeshiva and seminary programs,” which allow Orthodox students to transfer credits and complete degrees on an accelerated schedule.

Since the filing of the lawsuit, Fairleigh Dickinson University has maintained its innocence. In a statement provided to JNS when the suit was filed in September, Dina Schipper, FDU’s executive director of communication, said the school “categorically denies” the allegations.
“Students, faculty and staff have been able to freely study and work at the university,” Schipper stated at the time.

With the motion to dismiss denied, the university will now have to face the allegations in court as the case moves forward.