By: Fern Sidman

A sweeping new survey released this week paints a grim picture of Jewish student life worldwide, underscoring how antisemitism on campus has metastasized in the wake of October 7, 2023. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday published the findings of a comprehensive global study of Jewish university students, revealing that more than three-quarters feel compelled to hide their Jewish identity, while an even greater share conceal their Zionist beliefs.

The results, covering the 2024–2025 academic year, are among the starkest evidence yet that antisemitic rhetoric, activism, and violence on campus have not only escalated but fundamentally altered the lived reality of Jewish students across the globe. According to a report on Tuesday at World Israel News (WIN), the study, which engaged 1,727 Jewish students across more than 60 countries and six continents, highlights the chilling effect of both rhetoric and direct threats of violence.

The report found that 78% of Jewish students surveyed felt the need to hide their Jewish identity on campus. Even more striking, 81% reported concealing their Zionist beliefs, reflecting the degree to which expressions of support for Israel have become a flashpoint for hostility.

The data further revealed that women were disproportionately affected: 82% of female respondents said they hid their Jewish identity, compared to 73% of men. Likewise, 85% of women said they concealed their Zionist identity, compared to 75% of male students.

“This survey exposes a devastating reality: Jewish students across the globe are being forced to hide fundamental aspects of their identity just to feel safe on campus,” said Marina Rosenberg, ADL Senior Vice President of International Affairs. “When over three-quarters of Jewish students feel they must conceal their religious and Zionist identity for their own safety, the situation is nothing short of dire.”

Rosenberg added that the survey’s findings provide crucial guidance for university administrations and policymakers, who must now confront the depth of the crisis and take decisive action.

The World Israel News report noted that the ADL’s conclusions are consistent with previous reporting on campus hostility, but the scale and global scope of this study demonstrate just how pervasive the issue has become.

Beyond social ostracism and silencing, the survey documented the very real dangers Jewish students face in many academic environments. Over one-third (34%) of respondents said they personally knew Jewish peers who had been physically threatened, while nearly one in five (19%) reported knowing peers who were physically attacked.

One student in Vienna described to researchers how a so-called “Intifada Camp,” organized by anti-Israel activists, turned her university into a place of fear.

“There was an ‘Intifada Camp’ glorifying Hamas on campus, and our building already had antisemitic graffiti on it,” said Victoria, a Jewish Studies major at the University of Vienna. “One day, I was terrified to attend a seminar – there were only ten of us in the lecture hall, and there were rumors that camp participants would roam campus looking for ‘Zionists.’ We canceled the seminar and fled through the back exit. For a moment, I felt like it was the 1930s, and Jewish students were being chased from their universities.”

Accounts like Victoria’s are not isolated. According to the information provided in the World Israel News report, similar testimonies have been gathered from universities in North America, the UK, South Africa, and Australia, where pro-Hamas demonstrations, chants of “From the river to the sea,” and physical intimidation have become depressingly common features of campus life.

The survey also found a stark divide in the experiences of Orthodox versus non-Orthodox Jewish students. Orthodox students, who are more visibly identifiable through religious dress and practices, reported experiencing discrimination at twice the rate of their non-Orthodox peers.

This disparity, according to the information in the World Israel News report, reflects a broader reality: while many Jewish students can attempt to conceal their identities by avoiding discussions of Israel or refraining from wearing Jewish symbols, visibly Orthodox Jews are targeted more readily and with greater frequency.

The testimony of students such as Victoria underscores a theme that permeated many of the survey’s findings: Jewish students feel as if history is repeating itself. The sense of being hunted, excluded, or silenced mirrors memories of Europe in the 1930s, a comparison many students said felt tragically apt.

That such fears are now widespread not only in Europe but across six continents is a development that alarms both Jewish leaders and outside observers. “For many Jewish students, campuses have become hostile environments where they must choose between their safety and their identity,” World Israel News wrote, emphasizing that the toxic atmosphere extends beyond any single country or region.

The timing of the ADL survey was critical. Conducted after Hamas’s massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, and during the ongoing war in Gaza, the data reflect the cascading wave of antisemitism unleashed globally in the aftermath.

Universities, often bastions of progressive politics, became hotbeds of anti-Israel activism that frequently crossed the line into open antisemitism. Jewish students reported being shouted down during lectures, having “Zionist” classmates listed on boycott sheets, and in some cases being told directly they were not welcome in student groups because of their heritage or political beliefs.

As the World Israel News report observed, the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism is no longer an abstract debate but a lived reality for students worldwide, many of whom feel they are reliving the darkest chapters of Jewish history in real time.

The ADL survey also raises pressing questions about the role of universities themselves. While some administrations have issued statements condemning antisemitism, Jewish students widely perceive that institutional responses have been inadequate or even complicit.

“Universities are failing to protect Jewish students, plain and simple,” one North American respondent told researchers. “If we were any other minority group facing this level of hostility, the response would be immediate and overwhelming. Instead, we are told to keep quiet or risk making the situation worse.”

The report at World Israel News highlighted similar complaints in Israel’s Hebrew-language media, which has reported on the double standards applied by campus administrations, where antisemitic rhetoric is excused as political free speech while other forms of hate speech are swiftly sanctioned.

For Jewish leaders, the ADL’s study represents not only a stark warning but also an urgent call to action. “As the academic year begins, this data provides essential insights to guide university leadership in addressing this campus crisis head-on,” Rosenberg emphasized.

According to the information contained in the World Israel News report, the ADL has called for comprehensive reforms, including the creation of clear protocols for reporting and addressing antisemitic incidents, increased security for Jewish students and organizations, and mandatory training for faculty and staff to recognize and combat antisemitism.

Some Jewish advocacy groups have gone further, urging governments to tie university funding to measurable progress in combating antisemitism, much as funding is often conditioned on meeting diversity and inclusion benchmarks.

The ADL’s global survey represents one of the most comprehensive efforts yet to measure the extent of antisemitism in academia, and the findings are as alarming as they are sobering. With more than three-quarters of Jewish students concealing their identity and large numbers facing threats or outright violence, the report leaves little doubt that a crisis is underway.

As World Israel News has repeatedly emphasized, the campus is not just a battlefield of ideas but now, increasingly, a place of fear and intimidation for Jewish students. The implications reach far beyond university walls, reflecting broader societal shifts and reminding the Jewish community — and the world — that silence and inaction can carry devastating costs.

If universities, governments, and civil society fail to respond decisively, the 2024–2025 academic year may be remembered as a watershed moment when antisemitism on campus became normalized rather than challenged. For Jewish students worldwide, the stakes could not be higher.