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Good morning and welcome to the Campus Crisis Alert. If you want to subscribe,
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1. 📰 Top Stories
Georgetown. More than 150 anti-Israel protesters
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marched across the campus of Georgetown University in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, blocking major campus intersections and
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shouting chants like “If we don’t get no justice, then they don’t get no peace;” we believe that they didn’t mean the double negative as they also chanted, “there is only one solution, intifada revolution.” Organized by Students for Justice in Palestine with participation from Jewish Voice for Peace, the protest included criticism of Georgetown policies on free speech and protests. For instance, student groups must pay for additional law enforcement at events if the University deems it necessary. While these groups claim that they are being singled out, a University spokesperson set them straight: “All student groups (and academic units) have
for many years been responsible for covering the costs of any events that they host [...] There are no differences in how we implement our policy based on the viewpoint of the event.”
(Credit: Ruth Abramovitz | The Hoya)
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VCU. Anti-Israel protesters organized a class
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walkout at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond on Wednesday, with students gathering in the University’s Park Plaza to hear speeches from representatives of Students for Justice in Palestine, among others. One VCU professor even reportedly canceled classes so her students could attend the protest, telling them “I encourage you to attend if you can.” This comes after the University recently updated its policies to ban tents on campus, require those wearing masks to present ID and require advance approval for encampments. Wednesday’s walkout also follows weeks of VCU protesters promoting a “Disorientation” guide that urges students to
“fight against oppression and hence against our university.” The guide features explicitly antisemitic rhetoric, like placing quotation marks around uses of the word “Israel,” in addition to profiles of University board members who protesters hope to target in coming months.
(Credit: Goad Gatsby | X/Twitter)
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Harvard. Roughly 80 anti-Israel protesters
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marched through Harvard University’s campus on Friday, chanting slogans like “Long live the intifada” and “Globalize the intifada.” Organized by the group Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, the protest featured speakers who criticized the University’s decision to discipline students who participated in encampments last spring.
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Emory. A professor at Emory University described University President Gregory Fenves as
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“thuggish” after Fenves introduced
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policies banning encampments, the occupation of school buildings and protests past midnight. That professor, the president-elect of the school’s faculty senate, also criticized how the administration called Atlanta police and Georgia state patrol to the campus within three hours of students establishing an anti-Israel encampment back in April. Another professor, the university senate president, recently wrote to President Fenves urging “all charges to be dropped” against students who were arrested or otherwise disciplined for their actions last spring.
2. 🏆 Campus Champions
Safety First. Esteemed legal scholar and Harvard professor Cass Sunstein tackled the role of the First Amendment on college campuses in a
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piece for the New York Times on Friday, clarifying that while private universities provide a uniquely ambiguous context for debates around the First Amendment, certain principles are clear. “Students have no constitutional right to threaten to commit violence against their classmates,” Sunstein writes, outlining how “The First Amendment protects dissent, but it is emphatically not an absolute.” He continues, “If students want to take over a building or to destroy university property, the First Amendment will not help them,” and “If a group of students or professors conspires to violate the law, it is not protected merely because the conspiracy
consists of speech.”
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Minute with the Man. At the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s student convocation last week, political scientist Ray LaRaja
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offered the new students the keys to being part of the academy. He urged them to “celebrate curiosity,” understand that the university puts “a premium on open-mindedness” and “devote [themselves] to intellectual integrity.” Citing research that many college students are reluctant to voice their opinions in class, he urged them to be humble in what they know and to welcome the free exchange of ideas. “You know you are being open-minded when you listen attentively to views you don’t agree with—when you forgive yourself and others who make mistakes,” he said.
3. 💪✡️ Am Yisrael Chai
Honoring Hersh. The soccer club Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. has unveiled a new jersey for its upcoming season that pays
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tribute to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a fervent Hapoel fan who over the years was reliably in the Hapoel stands, cheering on his team. The new jersey features Goldberg-Polin’s face on the front, surrounded by Hebrew text saying “a child of light, love and peace” and “May your memory be a revolution” – a reference to the eulogy delivered by Goldberg-Polin’s father during Hersh’s funeral in Jerusalem. Following Goldberg-Polin’s capture on October 7th, Hapoel frequently used its social media channels to advocate for his release. Just hours before news broke of his murder by Hamas, Hersh’s parents spoke to Hapoel fans in a video message,
saying “Shalom, Hapoel fans and friends of Hersh [...] We, Hersh’s parents, thank you so much — for everything. Hapoel fans, players, owners, employees – everyone.”
(Credit: Hapoel Jerusalem FC | X/Twitter)
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Miami Mitzvah. More than 1,000 Jews from around the world
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gathered in Miami last week to celebrate their Jewish pride and experience workshops, speeches and performances led by dozens of Jewish leaders in policy and entertainment. The five-day National Jewish Retreat, organized by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, included powerful speeches from Sapir Cohen, a survivor of the October 7th massacre who spent 55 days in Hamas captivity, Nova Music Festival survivor Natalie Sanandaji and World Mizrachi chairman Rabbi Doron Perez, who lost a son on October 7th. On the event’s last day, one rabbi shared his belief that this retreat has “breathed new life and excitement into my community [...] People are fired up about being
Jewish—and they’re eager to do more.”
4. 📣 Info and Action:
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Not on My Campus
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Students — how to take action, deal with antisemitism, and organize your community.
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Alumni — how to organize a sign-on letter, answer a fundraising request, or write a letter to a university president.
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Parents — write a letter about commencement, organize a dial day, or get help selecting a college for your student.
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Glossary of Commonly Used Antisemitic Phrases Heard at Protests.
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Campus Antisemitism Report Card — see the grade a college earned in this first-ever report card.
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Report an Antisemitic Incident.
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Are you a student or know one who needs legal help? Contact our
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Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL), run by ADL, Hillel, the Brandeis Center, and Gibson Dunn. Hundreds of incidents have been reported. You are not alone!
Do you have something to share with us? We are building this as we go — so please email us at
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