Donors sue Rutgers over contributions

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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Two donors who gave money to a group opposed to the Israeli blockade of Gaza have sued New Jersey's state university for hanging on to the cash.

Court filings indicate a student group at Rutgers University raised $3,345 by holding a dinner in 2010 that included a film about the blockade from a Palestinian director, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported. The lawsuit says the university has let the money sit in a bank account.

University officials say legal questions remain about the group designated as the beneficiary. John Leschak, an Elizabeth, N.J., lawyer representing the plaintiffs says Rutgers is under pressure from pro-Israel groups.

The "U.S. to Gaza Dinner" was sponsored by BAKA: Students United for Middle East Justice.

The money was originally intended to go to a group planning to send a boat to a flotilla defying the blockade, but BAKA agreed to give it to an anti-blockade group named Wespac instead because of questions about the first group's non-profit status.