Pitt. Roughly 100 anti-Israel protesters held an “emergency rally” in front of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, protesting events in Lebanon and decrying “76 years of Zionist and Israeli aggression,” according to one protester. Another protester said, “We’re angry at European colonialism,” seemingly unaware that British colonial rule ended in what is now Israel and the Palestinian Authority territories in 1948 and that the French left Lebanon in 1946. The protest then moved to Schenley Plaza, blocking traffic on Forbes Avenue in the process. Facing a wall of protesters, about 12 counter-protesters waved an Israeli flag and asked the protesters “where are the hostages?”

(Source: Briana Bindus | The Pitt News)

👉 TAKE ACTION: Urge universities to create safety plans for October 7 to protect Jewish students.

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Michigan. Dozens of anti-Israel protesters at the University of Michigan marched through Ann Arbor’s South University area on Tuesday, with the leaders holding a sign that read “Gaza to Beirut One Struggle” next to inverted red triangles. Another sign read “Terrorist States” beside crude drawings of the U.S. and Israeli flags. The Michigan chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a clip of the march with an invitation to “Join Us And Answer The National Call To Action!!” In light of what has happened in recent weeks, some Michigan students have created a “Shmira,” from the Hebrew for “guarding,” assembling 50-100 volunteers to walk with students across the Michigan campus. One student leader said, “we just want the Jewish community to know that there are people here for you.”

DEEPER: Read ADL’s explainer of what the inverted red triangle means.

(Source: Simon Wiesenthal Center | X/Twitter)

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Penn. The University of Pennsylvania chapter of Faculty for Justice in Palestine apparently doesn’t contain many historians. On its Instagram feed, they posted a video of a massive explosion that occurred in Beirut, with the caption: “This is what happens when the US gives its precious ally a carte blanche. I’s [Israel’s] war has spread to Lebanon.” The problem is that this video isn’t from the current conflict, but from 2020 when several tons of ammonium nitrate, a material used in fertilizers, exploded in Beirut, killing more than 200 people and injuring another 6,000 in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. Israel had nothing to do with that blast.

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CUNY-John Jay. Meta has removed the Instagram account for the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. That account, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s study of more than 200 SJP accounts, “has proven [to be] one of the most unambiguously supportive of terrorism,” posting images of the Hezbollah flag, celebrating Yayha Sinwar’s rise in Hamas as a “clear message of defiance to the apartheid regime” and posting an image of a tank with the words “resistance is the only answer” on the day after the October 7 massacre. Good riddance.

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Harvard. You have to ace a lot of tests to get into Harvard, but according to House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, the Ivy League school failed in holding to account those responsible for disrupting the campus with anti-Israel protests including at its encampment last Spring. New documents show that none of those responsible for the encampments were disciplined, and no formal discipline was imposed on any student for antisemitic conduct violations — such as occupying a campus building and disrupting classes while shouting slogans into bullhorns — from 10/7 until the encampment. Foxx: “These administrators failed their Jewish students and faculty, they failed to make it clear that antisemitism will not be tolerated, and in this case, Harvard may have failed to fulfill its legal responsibilities to protect students from a hostile environment.”

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Washington. In a Sunday letter to Jewish leaders, Washington Governor Jay Inslee condemned the anti-Israel protesters who shouted down Jewish speakers at a recent meeting of the University of Washington Board of Regents, saying “disrupting such a meeting with fear and intimidation is an attempt to undermine our democracy. This incident must not be repeated.” The Board faced criticism because it “did nothing to remove the disrupters, but instead chose to adjourn the meeting,” according to the Jewish Federations of North America. In his letter, Governor Inslee explained that this protest “resulted in at least one arrest” and said the meeting was rescheduled to continue the conversation. He wrote, “In Washington state, we reject bigotry, incitement of hatred and demonization of religion.”

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NEW STUDY: Who’s Funding Anti-Israel Groups? Yesterday, the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) released a new study investigating who is funding many anti-Israel groups, including those that are found on campus such as JVP, SJP, and Samidoun. Focusing on tax records and grant announcements, they found that there is a range of donors, many of whom — such as the Sparkplug Foundation, Kiblawi Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) — are well-known for funding these groups pre-10/7. In December 2023, RBF defended their funding saying that each grantee “shares our conviction that all human life is precious and valued.” COE notes: “Some of RBF’s grantees have taken positions opposing Israel’s existence and which devalue the lives of Israelis.” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt: “It's alarming to learn just how entrenched anti-Israel activism is in certain funding spaces, and how much these funders are contributing to the disruptive environment that's emerged on so many campuses since 10/7.”

For New Alumni. Once students graduate and go out into the world, they have to navigate it without the structures of a university campus. To that end, ADL has announced an expanded partnership with Moishe House to provide 15 training sessions to help young Jewish professionals across Europe, Latin America and Israel recognize and combat antisemitism. “As antisemitism continues to spread across borders and communities, it’s crucial that Jewish young adults are equipped with the tools and knowledge to effectively respond to antisemitism,” said Dalia Grinfeld, ADL Associate Director for European Affairs. “By expanding our partnership with Moishe House, we are empowering a new generation to build resilience and confidently stand up against antisemitism.”

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Give Divest A Rest. Several schools cut deals with anti-Israel protesters in the spring and agreed to hold votes on divestment. Now, protesters are “escalating their activism” to ensure those votes succeed. But so far, “no university in the United States has yet opted to divest from Israel,” and that’s thanks to the tireless work of students, administrators and advocates. At Brown University, for instance, the tone around an upcoming divestment vote has dramatically changed thanks to people like Joseph Edelman, who resigned from the Brown Corporation Board saying a vote would “reward” groups that promote violence; the 24 Attorneys General who wrote to Brown leaders outlining that divestment could violate state laws; and Rabbi Josh Bolton, Director of Brown Hillel, who warns that holding a vote offers a symbolic win to protesters.

Deeds, Not Words. In a Wednesday op-ed in Time, the loved ones of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Alexander Lobanov and Almog Sarusi — the hostages murdered by Hamas and whose bodies were recovered by the IDF last month — conveyed one simple message to world leaders: Act. For 328 days, these families received promises, handshakes and even tears from those in power, but with 101 hostages still held in Gaza, the families warn “Sympathetic words alone will not spare them,” and “time to save them is running out.” They demand answers from the world’s presidents, prime ministers, celebrities and religious and spiritual leaders, insisting “It’s time to use the power you have and do better.” Because in the words of Rabbi Hillel, “If not now, WHEN?”

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Set A Place. On Monday, culinary leaders, activists and journalists gathered in Manhattan with the family of Shani Gabay, who was murdered at the Nova music festival, for a Michelin-star-quality meal that featured the chef’s take on Gabay’s favorite dish, spicy fish stew with challah. The four-course meal also included the favorite dishes of other October 7 victims: tomato soup with dumplings for Itay and Hadar Berdichevsky, beef tartare for Adiel Twitto and a chocolate birthday cake for Aviv Baram. The dinner was part of the “A Place at the Table” initiative, which has already hosted similar dinners for 30 families. In the words of Chef Gabriel Kreuther, these dinners are about “discovering [that there is] somebody behind recipes.”

• 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!

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