Florida. Two University of Florida students have accepted plea deals for misdemeanor criminal charges linked to anti-Israel protests on the university campus last spring. Charged with one count each of resisting an officer without violence, the students will pay a small fine and face no jail time, though they remain suspended from the university and banned from the Gainesville campus for three years. This plea deal marks the first resolution of criminal cases involving nine people, including six UF students, who were arrested during protests at the university last spring. One student faces a felony battery charge for spitting on a police officer. Other cases from this incident are expected to head to trial in the coming weeks.

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Illinois State. A federal judge rebuked plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by seven students from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois who claimed they were unconstitutionally punished by the university after they were arrested for trespassing during anti-Israel protests last spring. The university reportedly suspended the students and required them to each write a thousand-word essay describing their plans for demonstrating on campus without violating university policies, which the students claimed violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights. Judge Colin Bruce recently denied their requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, saying some of the students’ arguments were "patently without merit." He then urged the plaintiffs to “amend their complaint so that it better reflects the current state of affairs.”

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Emerson. College President Jay M. Bernhard wrote to the Emerson community before the start of the semester, noting that college policies “were updated to provide a greater focus on campus safety and continuity of operations,” sharing his desire to “apply the many lessons learned last year” — when 118 people were arrested during an anti-Israel encampment outside Emerson’s Boston campus. The college’s new policies ban protests on most Emerson property, prohibit tents and structures being put up in protest, require students to pre-register for protests in certain locations and require students to show Emerson ID and remove face masks if asked by a college official.

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Miami. The University of Miami has updated its Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook to introduce new guardrails around on-campus protests, with the Dean of Students Office saying “Campus safety and the safety of our community members and visitors are paramount.” University policies prohibit students from setting up encampments, using face masks to avoid identification and blocking the flow of traffic both on campus and in university buildings, among other provisions. David Weinert, a senior lecturer in the School of Communication, said “We have to remember that free speech, while pivotal in a democracy, isn’t absolute [...] all universities (i.e., even private) are bound, by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to enforce campus policies in a manner that doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin.”

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Sarah Lawrence. The shopping period for a course taught by Samuel Abrams, a politics professor at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY since 2010, was disrupted on Zoom by a “Divestment Coalition” of campus groups that announced a “boycott” of his courses, accused him of conflating DEI advocates with Nazis and sent messages to students on the Zoom, pressuring them not to enroll in Abrams’ courses. This resulted in diminished enrollment for his course. Worse yet, Abrams writes, was the “laconic response” from college leaders. Abrams flagged the incident for the college’s president and provost and received a short email asking him to submit a report for the College’s Bias Incident Response Team. With no sign of urgency from college leaders and a course that’s now historically under-enrolled, Abrams concludes “Administrators who cannot evenhandedly enforce school rules and policies — and articulate to students why this is important — are not fit to lead.”

DEEPER: Hillels of Westchester filed a Title VI complaint against Sarah Lawrence for ignoring “persistent and pervasive” antisemitism on campus.

👉 TAKE ACTION: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hasn’t addressed antisemitism on campus in nearly 20 years. Urge your member of Congress to support a bipartisan call for an investigation into campus antisemitism.

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For Future College Students. During this historic period of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric, many young people want to learn more about events surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sadly, these lessons can also be traumatizing for young people concerned for their and others’ safety. To help guide these challenging conversations and create space for young people to process complex emotions and practice empathy, ADL Education is offering a repository of resources to educators, parents and caregivers that combines ADL’s guide for discussing antisemitism with young people, tips for supporting Jewish students in the classroom and details on an upcoming webinar to help K-12 educators discuss the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre, among other resources.

👉 TAKE ACTION: Share ADL Education’s resource for “Discussing the Israel-Hamas War with Young People” with the educators, parents and caregivers in your life.

I Quit. “I find it morally reprehensible that holding a divestment vote was even considered, much less that it will be held — especially in the wake of the deadliest assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” says Joseph Edelman in a recent Wall Street Journal article that announced his resignation from the Brown University Board of Trustees. Among other concerns, Edelman clarifies that Brown’s decision to hold a vote on divestment isn’t based on any facts, values or real principles. Rather, the university is simply trying to “buy good behavior from pro-Hamas activists,” many of whom “are adherents of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, which seeks the destruction of the Jewish state through political and economic warfare.” Edelman concludes “I am unwilling to lend my name or give my time to a body that lacks basic moral judgment.”

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10 Steps to Protecting Jewish Students. Acknowledging how the horrors of the October 7 massacre have spilled onto US college campuses, UCLA professor and ADL board member Sharon Nazarian outlines 10 steps for university leaders to welcome back their Jewish students and “offer them the assurance that last year’s academic nightmare won’t be repeated.” Based on guidance from ADL, Hillel International, the Jewish Federations of North America, AJC and the Conference of Presidents and other leading Jewish groups, Nazarian urges universities to “clearly communicate” policies on protests, “directly respond to antisemitic incidents,” prevent discrimination against Jewish organizations like Hillel, reject BDS efforts, provide antisemitism education and simply “get to know your Jewish students,” among other recommendations. Nazarian concludes, “After all, if Jewish students don’t feel safe to be their full Jewish selves [...] if their parents feel insecure in sending their children to your campus, then we have all failed as a democracy.”

Serving Up Glory. Jewish- American table tennis player Ian Seidenfeld earned a bronze medal in men’s singles MS6 at the Paris Paralympics last week. During the Tokyo Paralympics three years earlier, Seidenfeld upset the world’s No.1 player to secure the gold, a victory that made him the first American player to win gold in Paralympic table tennis since fellow Jewish player Tahl Leibovitz in 1996. This year, Seidenfeld and Leibovitz played together in doubles, marking the seventh Paralympics for Leibovitz. Seidenfeld’s father, Mitchell, is himself a three-time Paralympian and four-time medalist who now coaches for the U.S. team. Mazel tov, Ian, Tahl and Mitchell!

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Hitting High Notes. Children representing 57 schools across three Australian states recently gathered outside the Sydney Opera House, a site of anti-Israel protests after October 7, for a powerful display of Jewish pride. The children, all competing in the Australian finals of the JewQ international Torah competition, offered prayers for peace and the safe return of hostages before breaking into spontaneous dance and singing “Am Yisrael Chai” and “I’m a Jew and I’m Proud.”

(Credit: Gary Friedland | COLlive)

• Students — how to take action, deal with antisemitism, and organize your community.
• Alumni — how to organize a sign-on letter, answer a fundraising request, or write a letter to a university president.
• Parents — write a letter about commencement, organize a dial day, or get help selecting a college for your student.
• Glossary of Commonly Used Antisemitic Phrases Heard at Protests.
• Campus Antisemitism Report Card — see the grade a college earned in this first-ever report card.
• Report an Antisemitic Incident.
• Are you a student or know one who needs legal help? Contact our 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 [email protected] with any suggestions, questions, photos, and videos.