BREAKING: Help for K-12 students. Since ADL, Hillel International and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, along with leading law firms, launched the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL), it has managed more than 650 cases of college students who needed legal help to respond to antisemitism against them. Following a similar successful K-12 pilot program in California; ADL along with StandWithUs and the Brandeis Center, announced today that they will expand the helpline to provide legal assistance to parents of K-12 students, staff and faculty in Massachusetts and New York. They can use the line to report incidents of antisemitic discrimination, intimidation, harassment, vandalism or violence. When appropriate, lawyers will then conduct in-depth information-gathering interviews and may provide pro bono representation or referrals to groups that can offer non-legal assistance.

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Pitt. A Jewish student at the University of Pittsburgh was attacked in the early morning on Friday by a group of six to eight college-aged men who “saw his Star of David necklace and hurled insults about Israel,” according to Pittsburgh police. At least three people then began punching and kicking the student before a bystander intervened and ended the assault. Local police and the FBI are now looking for suspects for what the university’s website described as a “hate crime.” Tragically, this assault comes less than a month after two visibly Jewish Pitt students were attacked at the university by a man wielding a glass bottle.

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

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Columbia. Dozens of anti-Israel protesters gathered on the Columbia University campus on Friday following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address at the United Nations, for an “All out for Lebanon” protest that called for the university to divest from Israel, and presumably halt its military action against Hezbollah. According to the student paper, this protest is “the first of its kind” for the 2024-2025 year. Announced by the group Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the protest included chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” signs reading “All Cops Are Bastards” — with a drawing of Vice President Kamala Harris and New York City Mayor Eric Adams — and one speaker who concluded by saying “we don’t want no Zionists here.” Demonstrating a more acute sense of the geopolitics of the Middle East, pro-Israel counter-protesters waved Israeli flags and chanted “Free Gaza from Hamas” and “Free Lebanon from Hezbollah.”

(Credit: Judy Goldstein | Columbia Spectator)

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Michigan. In a recent post on Instagram, the Jewish Voice for Peace chapter at the University of Michigan stated “death to Israel” isn’t just a threat, “it's a moral imperative and the only acceptable solution. May [sic] the entire colony burn to the ground for good.” It is unclear how calling for the destruction of the country that houses half the world’s Jews supports “Jewish voices” or “peace,” a paradox shared by many high profile commentators such as Josh Marshall, Yashar Ali, and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). According to a statement from the University of Michigan, Instagram deleted the post: “We find the post repugnant and support Instagram’s decision to delete the post.” It also noted that JVP has not been a “registered student organization” at Michigan since 2016, has no formal affiliation with the Big 10 school, and is not listed in its directory of student groups.

(Source: Josh Marshall | X/Twitter)

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Harvard. In a Friday op-ed for the Harvard Crimson, undergraduate Charles Covit takes to task the storied Cambridge university’s Center on Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) for demonstrating a pattern of bias regarding the discussion of Israeli-Palestinian issues. For example, he notes how CMES will be hosting a book talk tomorrow on a memoir of a man convicted for the 1993 murder of Israeli police officer Chaim Nachmani, but makes no mention of him being a murderer. This is just one of many examples of CMES’s bias, but don’t take Covit’s word for it. As former Harvard President and current Charles W. Eliot Professor Larry Summers notes: "Powerful student journalism here. CMES is one of several centers at Harvard that actively promotes anti Israel views, with no serious effort at balance. University leaders violate their own neutrality policies when they allow this to continue year after year and ignore thoughtful complaints. Antisemitic words and deeds are given respect and legitimacy at Harvard in a way that would be inconceivable for racism or misogyny.”

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Penn. During the year’s first meeting of the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, interim president Larry Jameson announced the university is in the process of implementing recommendations from the school’s Task Force on Antisemitism and the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community. Jameson also voiced his support for recent updates to university policy outlining “when, where, and how open expression can take place" and celebrated the creation of the Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion — meant to combat rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of religious bias — noting this office is the first of its kind in the country. While these are positive developments for the West Philly Ivy, they come after some evidence has emerged that donations are down following the past year of encampments and a presidential resignation. According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, this year’s Wharton School of Business “Donor Honor Roll” — a list of donors who have made donations, pledges or pledge payments — was 23 pages shorter than the previous one.

News from Newsom. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Saturday that will require California’s public universities to update their codes of conduct, instruct students in peaceful protest and lead mandatory anti-discrimination training for students. The proposals passed the state legislature with broad, bipartisan support despite opposition from anti-Israel activists. Sen. Steve Glazer, who authored the code of conduct bill, said “Even in these difficult circumstances, all students should be able to freely express themselves without threat or intimidation, especially on college campuses.” Governor Newsom also signed a bill designed to prevent “hate littering” — the distribution of materials on private property that threaten people based on their identity. Leaving hateful antisemitic fliers in mailboxes or on cars is common among far-right antisemites.

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Fine Fellows. The Jewish Agency for Israel announced a 20 percent expansion of its US campus emissary program on Friday, deploying another 15 Campus Israel Fellows to campuses from American University to Arizona State with the goal of leading Jewish and Israeli identity programs, serving as a “first line of defense against hate and allowing [Jewish students] to feel safer expressing their identity.” The program has grown by 50 percent over the past two years, with this latest expansion supported by both “large and small” donations from all over the United States.

Forward. Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, the only Israeli in the NBA, recently posted an image of an Israeli flag hanging in his locker. NBC Central then promoted the post, saying Avdija “wants to bring pride to Israel through basketball” and included a quote from Avdija: “I have friends who are combat soldiers who risked their lives for the country, and my heart is with them all the time. I’ve been very interested in their well-being and the well-being of the hostages’ families. I try to help as much as I can, balancing it with my career. At home, the TV was on all day, and social media too, so it was impossible not to be involved. I tried to do what I could to bring some pride to Israel through basketball and my efforts off the court.”

(Source: NBACentral | X/Twitter)

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Deeper. A little bit of education goes a long way in dispelling anti-Zionist biases. That’s according to a new survey from Boundless Israel and BSG, which found that taking just a moment to explain what Zionism actually is raises the share of Jewish adults who identify as Zionists from 31 percent to 53 percent. That same survey showed 84 percent of Jews who believe their Israel education was “fair and balanced” feel connected to Israel, and 77 percent of young American Jews want more opportunities to learn about Israel.

• 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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