State: New Jersey
City: New Brunswick
Campus: Rutgers University (Rutgers)
Sarada has consistently aligned with anti-Israel faculty activism, signing petitions and publishing work that frames Israel as committing “genocide,” while positioning themselves in solidarity with pro-Palestinian movements.
Support for Anti-Israel Campaigns
In May 2021, Sarada Balagopalan signed a Rutgers University faculty letter condemning Israel’s “military assault on Palestinians across all regions.” In October 2023, she co-wrote the article “Childhood researchers call for an end to the Western-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza” and also signed Scholars of South Asia in Solidarity with Palestine. That same month, she signed a petition criticizing Rutgers’ president for his response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Academic and Activist Engagement
In February 2022, Balagopalan participated in a talk about the book “Problematizing Law, Rights, and Childhood in Israel/Palestine.” In January 2024, she contributed a short story to Letters for Palestinian Childhoods. Earlier, in January 2018, she served as the director of a thesis titled “Deconstructing The United Nations’ Imagination Of ‘The Refugee Child’: A Childhood Studies Approach For The Syrian Refugee Crisis In Lebanon.”
Conclusion
Through her public letters, academic work, and activism, Sarada Balagopalan has repeatedly aligned herself with anti-Israel campaigns and rhetoric. Her actions show a consistent pattern of framing Israel as the aggressor, while participating in petitions and initiatives that deepen hostility on campus and contribute to an environment where antisemitism can grow unchecked.
