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Although this year has been “less catastrophic” than the last on campus, “we continue to see extraordinary ugliness around the country,” Kenneth Marcus, of the Brandeis Center, told JNS.
By: Anna Rahmanan
StopAntisemitism saw a 1,500% increase last year in tips about Jew-hatred it received for its 2023 “report card” on campus antisemitism. This year, the nonprofit has experienced what it describes as a “jaw-dropping” 3,000% increase in tips and submissions about Jew-hatred.
“These higher education institutions have utterly failed to protect Jewish students, allowing harassment, exclusion and violent antisemitism to thrive unchecked,” stated Liora Rez, the nonprofit’s founder and executive director.
“Despite reports of discrimination, death threats and open hostility, the administration has taken little to no meaningful action, abandoning Jewish students in their time of need. This negligence not only endangers Jewish students but also sets a dangerous precedent for intolerance on campus,” Rez stated. “Parents, do not fund this complicity with your tuition dollars. Choose institutions that prioritize the safety and inclusion of all students—Jewish students deserve better.”
The 2024 College Report, which runs 24 pages, suggests that more than half (55%) of Jewish students have been victims of antisemitism, and 43% of those Jewish students didn’t feel sufficiently safe to report the Jew-hatred. Among those who reported the incidents, a “staggering” 87% think that their schools didn’t investigate the matter sufficiently.
The nonprofit also found that 72% of college students feel unwelcome as Jews in “certain spaces” on campus, that 43% hide their Jewish identities “out of fear” and that nearly seven in 10 reported being excluded “completely” from campus diversity initiatives (67%), being blamed for Israel’s actions (69%) and feeling that their schools didn’t respond appropriately to protect Jews after Oct. 7 (67%).
“Perhaps most heartbreaking, 43% would not recommend their school to fellow Jewish students,” the report found.
The only four schools that earned “A” grades in the report—among 25 institutions—were Baylor University (Texas), Clemson University (South Carolina), Elon University (North Carolina) and the University of Mississippi.
The grades look at the schools’ “commitment—or failure—to protect Jewish students, offering parents a vital guide to ensure their hard-earned money isn’t spent at institutions that won’t safeguard their children’s safety and dignity,” StopAntisemitism told JNS.
Eight schools got “F” grades: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University (New York), Brown University (Rhode Island), The New School (New York), University of California (Davis), the University of Oregon, Emerson University (Massachusetts) and the University of Washington.
‘Most show a decline’
Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told JNS that “this academic year has, in some respects, been less catastrophic than last,” but “we continue to see extraordinary ugliness around the country.”
These sorts of reports have triggered federal investigations in the past which have, in turn, elicited responses from schools, according to Marcus. (The Brandeis Center has filed complaints over the years, hoping for change, he said.)
“We have seen troublesome institutions, like the University of Vermont, go from ‘worst to first’ in the words of their local communities, as a result of federal investigations triggered by Brandeis Center complaints,” Marcus told JNS.
“Most recently, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has substantially revised its policies to ensure that anti-Zionist harassment is treated as seriously as any other form of hate or bias,” he added.
StopAntisemitism told JNS that its internal data suggests that the situation has gotten worse since last year.
“Every year, in addition to our 25 new features, we review five schools from previous reports—and, unfortunately, most show a decline,” the nonprofit told JNS. “For example, last year, Dartmouth, which earned an ‘A’ last year, has slipped to a ‘B’ after Oct. 7 due to their worsening response to protecting students.”
“MIT, which initially scored a ‘C,’ has now dropped to an ‘F’ due to an absolute failure in leadership,” the nonprofit said.
Victoria Grantham, vice president of communications at Vassar College (which earned a “D” grade this year), told JNS that the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., private liberal arts school “takes the safety and well-being of Jewish students, faculty and staff with utmost seriousness.”
“We are committed to upholding those imperatives every day,” Grantham said. “Our campus has robust support systems and resources that every student needs to ensure a rich social and learning environment.”
Vassar “has a vibrant, visible and proud Jewish community that includes our director of Jewish life, a Jewish studies major, study-abroad programs in Israel and a Bayit on campus,” Grantham told JNS. (The latter is “the home of Jewish campus life.”)
‘A global phenomenon’
StopAntisemitism also calls on schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHA)’s working definition of Jew-hatred, to reject the movement to boycott Israel and to disband chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Faculty for Justice in Palestine.
“It’s time for universities to take back control of their campuses and prioritize the safety and well-being of all students,” the nonprofit told JNS.
“The rise in college antisemitism is not limited to the United States. It’s far worse abroad,” StopAntisemitism told JNS. “In countries like Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and many others, antisemitism is going unchecked. If American universities continue to allow their students to behave this way, we will soon be following in their footsteps, and it will be too late to stop it.”
Marcus told JNS that “the recent burst of campus antisemitism is very much a global phenomenon, related to the problems that we have seen on the streets of Europe and the Middle East, including most recently Amsterdam.”
“Although the Biden administration’s enforcement has not been as strong as what I would have preferred, even their investigations have had a demonstrable impact,” he added. “With the much more muscular approach that we have seen from President Donald Trump, we can expect an even greater impact when Secretary-designate Linda McMahon arrives.”
(JNS.org)
