ADL Condemns NYC Colleges for Failing to Address Campus Anti-Semitism

ADL Condemns NYC Colleges for Failing to Address Campus Anti-Semitism

Edited by: Fern Sidman

The New School, Barnard College, and Columbia University have received scathing reviews for their handling of anti-Semitism on campus, as outlined in a newly released Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report card and cited by a report in The New York Post.  The report, issued on Monday, evaluates universities based on their responses to anti-Israel protests, hostile rhetoric, and incidents of harassment targeting Jewish students.

The New York Post report highlighted that The New School received an F grade, one of the lowest ratings among the 13 failing schools, while Barnard College’s rating dropped from a C to a D following an unruly, violent takeover of an administration building by masked anti-Israel protesters who assaulted a security guard. Columbia University, which has also faced criticism for its perceived inaction against anti-Semitic incidents, remains under scrutiny.

This report comes amid a surge in anti-Israel protests and actions that have left Jewish students feeling unsafe, with the U.S. Department of Education currently investigating The New School for civil rights violations tied to anti-Semitic harassment.

According to The New York Post, The New School earned its failing F grade due to a series of highly visible anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incidents that have plagued its Greenwich Village campus. The ADL’s assessment noted that, over the past year, the school has been a hotbed for anti-Zionist activism, much of which has crossed into anti-Semitic rhetoric and intimidation.

In May 2024, students and faculty occupied the university’s Welcome Center in an aggressive push for the school’s board of trustees to divest from Israel-linked companies, The New York Post reported. This action came on the heels of two anti-Israel encampments, one led by students and the other by faculty, emphasizing the institutional tolerance for extreme anti-Israel sentiment.

During the April-May encampment, protesters prominently displayed messages such as “Resist colonial power by any means necessary,” “Zionist donors and trustees, hands off our universities” and “The future is anti-Zionist”

At least one protest sign contained an inverted red triangle, a symbol popularized by the terrorist group Hamas to mark targets for attack. The ADL specifically flagged this as an alarming example of anti-Semitic incitement at the school.

Further intensifying tensions, The New York Post reported that in August 2024, The New School’s student senate took the drastic step of ceasing funding for all student organizations until the university divested from companies involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict. Though funding was later reinstated in November, the initial decision effectively punished student groups for their association with the university’s perceived ties to Israel.

In a separate but related act of campus hostility, members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) disrupted a September 2024 speech by school president Joel Towers, demanding full divestment from Israel. The New York Post reported that The New School administration has remained largely silent in the face of these repeated instances of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity, contributing to its failing grade in the ADL’s assessment.

Ironically, The New School was founded in 1933 as a haven for European scholars fleeing Nazism, yet the modern administration has been unwilling to take meaningful action to protect Jewish students, The New York Post report indicated.

While Barnard College was initially slated to receive a C grade, The New York Post revealed that a last-minute reassessment dropped its rating to a D due to the administration’s weak response to an aggressive anti-Israel protest that escalated into violence against a security guard.

Last week, masked protesters, many affiliated with anti-Israel student groups, forcibly took over Barnard’s administration building. The New York Post reported that instead of swiftly enforcing campus policies, the college attempted to negotiate with the demonstrators, allowing the unlawful occupation to continue longer than necessary.

An ADL spokesperson explained the rationale behind the downgrade to The New York Post: “The reassessment occurred as ADL believes that the College should have enforced their policies more robustly rather than attempting to negotiate with them [the protesters].”

Barnard was already on the cusp of receiving a D, with its hesitant approach toward enforcing disciplinary actions against anti-Israel agitators was enough to warrant a downgrade.

The New York Post contextualizes the ADL report card within a broader national failure of elite universities to protect Jewish students from targeted harassment and intimidation. The report highlighted a growing pattern of unchecked anti-Semitism, where anti-Zionist protests have morphed into violent, hostile acts against Jewish individuals and institutions.

In light of the report card’s findings, the New York Post report called attention to the fact that The New School, Barnard, and Columbia University are not isolated cases but part of a disturbing trend where administrations have either failed to act or have enabled anti-Semitic hostility to flourish.

Further proving the gravity of the situation, the New York Post reported that the education department is now actively investigating The New School for civil rights violations tied to anti-Semitic harassment. This federal probe indicates that the campus climate has deteriorated to the point where intervention from higher authorities is now necessary.