Dear John, yesterday, I went to Columbia University to show support for the embattled Jewish students. The school has become an alarming example of the anti-Jewish hatred we are witnessing at campuses across the country.

As I approached the gates of the university, I saw a seething protest. And yet the most sobering experience came from a listening session hosted in the Hillel by the Columbia Task Force on Antisemitism. Students came to tell their stories. Some wore kippot, some had nose rings, but what they had in common was that all were on edge, feeling scared and unsafe.

Students described having liquids flung at them; getting screamed at in broad daylight for simply wearing a Jewish star. Demonstrators threatening to inflict 10/7 on their fellow classmates.

It is time for immediate and swift action at Columbia and across the country; Jewish students are just one group at risk as part of this larger rise in tensions.

We welcome the White House statement recognizing this dangerous moment: “Calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous — they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the US.”

Columbia President Minouche Shafik has spoken out in response to the protests, committing that “antisemitic language, like any other language that is used to hurt and frighten people, is unacceptable and appropriate action will be taken.” She and other college presidents across the country need to do more to ensure the safety of their Jewish students. No one should wait for a tragedy to happen in order to take action.

Speak out now. Click here to tell Columbia University’s leaders to take action today, and click here to reach university leaders at any of the 85 schools in ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card to urge them to do more to tackle campus antisemitism.

Below, find vital ADL resources — a hotline for Jewish students facing antisemitism; templates for parents and others to use in calling for a focus on protecting Jewish students; our new Campus Antisemitism Report card and more.

Every Jewish student — and every student — must feel safe on campus. Thank you for joining ADL in speaking out.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Greenblatt

CEO and National Director

ADL