Anti-semitism continues to make the news with a new survey conducted by the Anti Defamation League (ADL), investigations of multiple colleges announced by the Department of Education, and a new congressional hearing.
Campus Survey Shows 73% of Jewish Students Experience Anti-semitism
Starting in August 2023, the ADL, in partnership with Hillel International and facilitated by College Pulse, fielded a nationally representative survey of over 3,084 American college students, of which 527 were Jewish, from 689 campuses nationwide to gauge the climate for Jewish students across U.S. campuses. College Pulse is the survey firm that also conducts the FIRE campus climate surveys. They distributed a second survey in November to measure the impact of the October 7 Hamas attack.
The survey reports, “73% of Jewish students have experienced some form of antisemitism on college campuses just since the start of the 2023-2024 school year.”
It also found:
“Prior to 10/7, two-thirds (66.6%) of Jewish students said they felt “very” or “extremely” physically safe on campus, compared to less than half (45.5%) post-10/7. Feelings of emotional safety among Jewish students changed even more dramatically – two-thirds (65.8%) of Jewish students said they felt “very” or “extremely” emotionally safe before 10/7, which fell to a third (32.5%) after 10/7. When asked after 10/7 how physically and emotionally safe they felt on campus, Jewish students were substantially more likely to report feeling unsafe relative to the previous survey wave, regardless of whether they themselves had witnessed or experienced campus antisemitism.”
The survey also found self-censorship among Jewish students. “Prior to 10/7, 23.1% of Jewish students said they had felt a need to hide their identity versus 36.5% post-10/7.”
RELATED: The Moral Rot of Cornell
Of the nearly 700 college campuses surveyed, students from 46% of these schools reported at least one antisemitic incident that they had either personally experienced, witnessed, or that was an act of antisemitic vandalism on campus.
Regarding diversity training of college students,
“More than half (55.8%) of students surveyed said they had previously completed DEI training, but only 18.1% of those who had indicated previous DEI training said that they had completed any training modules specific to anti-Jewish prejudice. This discrepancy suggests that, while DEI programs have become increasingly common on campus, such programs remain limited in scope.”
Eighty-four percent of Jewish students surveyed believe that anti-semitism should be included as a topic in DEI training.
Harvard Investigated
Harvard is joining a list of 56 schools, including Cornell, currently being investigated for “shared ancestry” discrimination by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The chief attorney for Boston’s Office of Civil Rights wrote in a letter that the office will be looking into whether Harvard “failed to respond to alleged harassment of students based on their national origin (shared Jewish ancestry and/or Israeli) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI.” OCR is also starting to investigate New York City Public Schools.
The list of open investigations dates back to an Executive Order signed by President Trump that resulted in anti-semitism being considered a form of illegal discrimination under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. By way of comparison, OCR is currently investigating 2,430 open sex discrimination cases.
Congressional Hearing
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is currently chaired by GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx, held a hearing on December 5 on anti-semitism. The presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania all testified.
Foxx stated in a press release:
“College and university presidents have a responsibility to foster and uphold a safe learning environment for their students and staff. Now is not a time for indecision or milquetoast statements. By holding this hearing, we are shining the spotlight on these campus leaders and demanding they take the appropriate action to stand strong against antisemitism.”
C-SPAN covered the hearing. Harvard President Claudine Gay testified,
Speech that incites violence, threatens safety, or violates Harvard policies against bullying and harassment is unacceptable. We have made it clear that any behaviors that disrupt our teaching and research efforts will not be tolerated. Where these lines have been crossed, we have taken action.
All three presidents stressed the importance of protecting First Amendment rights on campus.
House Resolution on Anti-semitism
On December 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a 311-14-92 vote a resolution condemning the rise in anti-semitism following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Ninety-two Democrats voted “present,” and 13 Democrats and one Republican voted against the resolution.
The resolution “clearly and firmly states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism” and “rejects all forms of terror, hate, discrimination, and harassment of members of the Jewish community.”
In sum, these problems are wide-spread and not confined to just Cornell and a few other schools.
