NEW BRUNSWICK -- A Rutgers University professor accused of posting anti-Semitic posts on his Facebook page issued an unusual defense on Thursday, saying his social media account was hacked and that he couldn't say with confidence that all the posts were shared by him.

Michael Chikindas, a veteran professor in the food science department, allegedly posted anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rants on his page over several months, including some saying the Armenian genocide was orchestrated by Jews.

In an email to NJ Advance Media, Chikindas denied his Facebook posts were anti-Semitic and said his account, which he thought would only been seen by a small circle of friends, was hacked.

"As a result of my account being hacked, I cannot say with confidence that everything on my page was shared by me: There is a good chance for some things being placed on my page by those who hacked my account," Chikindas said in an email sent to NJ Advance Media.

However, Chikindas did not deny sharing some of the cartoons, images and comments considered anti-Semitic.

Rutgers University officials are investigating the prominent professor for allegedly violating the campus' anti-discrimination policy with his Facebook comments.

Rutgers University professor Michael Chikindas

The professor's account also posted racist cartoon-images depicting Jews and a link to a conspiracy theorists claiming the 9/11 attacks were planned by Israel and American Jews, according to accounts in the Jewish press. In other posts, Chikindas referred to Israeli and American women, including First Lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump, as "sluts" and "bitches."

The posts have since been removed, but copies remain on Jewish blogs and other publications that first reported Chikindas' comments.

"I do not identify myself as anti-Semite. It is my lifelong credo that all people are born equal regardless of their ethnicity, religion and wealth. I am equally intolerant to all forms of racism, without any exclusions," Chikindas said in his email. "The pictures I shared from other Facebook pages were not removed by the Facebook mediators which made me think they are not violating any rules while raising a question of possible racist nature of Zionism."

Chikindas also said he has been receiving death threats since his posts became public, including many he claims are coming from Israel-based Russians.

"I feel extremely insecure with my health and life being threatened in numerous written and verbal messages," Chikindas said.

In a previous interview with the Jewish newspaper The Algemeiner, Chikindas also denied his comments were anti-Semitic and said he was once married to a Jewish woman and they have a child together. He also said his family lineage is 25 percent Jewish.

Rutgers officials disavowed the professor's Facebook comments and said he is being investigated for violating the university's anti-discrimination policies.

"Professor Michael Chikindas' comments and posts on social media are antithetical to our university's principles and values of respect for people of all backgrounds, including, among other groups, our large and vibrant Jewish community. Such comments do not represent the position of the university," Rutgers officials said in a statement Wednesday.

Chikindas, a tenured professor and director of the Center for Digestive Health at Rutgers' New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, has free speech rights on campus, school officials said. But, he may have gone too far in his Facebook posts.

"Rutgers' position on free speech is clear: All of the members of our community, including faculty and staff, are free to express their viewpoints in public forums as private citizens. Yet at Rutgers University we must also foster an environment free from discrimination, as articulated in our policy prohibiting discrimination. The university is reviewing this matter to determine if actions taken in the context of his role as a faculty member at Rutgers may have violated that policy," the university's statement said.

Rutgers Hillel, the campus Jewish organization, noted in a statement that the news of the investigation into Chikindas comes the same week that white supremacist recruitment fliers were posted around the New Brunswick and Piscataway campuses.

"His vile anti-Semitism is a profound embarrassment to our university and a source of pain and bewilderment to our students, the largest Jewish undergraduate population in America, and to our alumni, parents, and supporters," the Rutgers Hillel statement said.

According to his resume, Chikindas earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in Armenia and received his doctorate in genetics at a school in Moscow.

He has worked at Rutgers since 1998 and earned tenure in 2007. He is founder and editor-in-chief of Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins, a professional research journal.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer.