A Statement from ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt: We are horrified by the news coming out of Amsterdam that shows Maccabi Tel Aviv fans facing violent assault outside a soccer stadium yesterday, with mobs of hate-filled people chasing down and attacking innocent Israeli soccer fans who they have dehumanized as “Zionists,” hunting down and brutalizing ordinary people who came to Amsterdam simply to enjoy a soccer match.

This is exactly what “globalize the intifada” looks like. We demand Dutch authorities do everything necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli fans, work to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators, and apologize for this obscene, unprovoked violence. We're continuing to monitor the situation.

DePaul. Two Jewish students — a former IDF soldier and a leader of the Students Standing with Israel organization — were physically assaulted at DePaul University by masked assailants after visibly showing their support for Israel. University President Robert L. Manuel condemned the incident, showing support for the students and the Jewish community of DePaul: "The university is actively working with the Chicago Police Department to investigate this incident. He also stated, "We recognize that for a significant portion of our Jewish community, Israel is a core part of their Jewish identity. Those students — and every student — should feel safe on our university campus.”

DEEPER: ADL Midwest provides more context about why the attack is so alarming, pointing to a 300% increase in antisemitic incidents in Chicago over the last year.

(Source: CBS News Chicago video)

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Terps for Tolerance. In a closely watched decision, the University of Maryland’s Student Government Association voted against a resolution calling for divestment from defense companies. The resolution, which named specific companies as being “engaged in human rights violations” in places including Palestinian territories, was blocked in a narrow vote. During the packed meeting, dozens of students testified on the resolution. Opponents argued that the measure would deepen campus divisions and unfairly targeted Israel. ADL applauds the Jewish students at UMD for their resilience, and thanks UMD Hillel and campus allies for supporting a safe environment.

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Amsterdam. At the University of Amsterdam, the price tag on damage caused by anti-Israel unrest in May turns out to be a startling $4.4 million. The protests at the Dutch school were extensive and went on for days as activists occupied facilities and public spaces around campus and which a media report describes as resulting in images “showing men wearing keffiyehs covering their faces wielding wooden planks and using them to forcefully hit Jewish students who staged a small counterprotest.”

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MIT. A student who wrote an article calling for violence as a legitimate method of advancing the anti-Israel movement has been banned from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and faces possible suspension or expulsion. The article, published in an MIT student publication alongside images of terrorists, states that activists have failed the movement because of “our own decision to embrace nonviolence.” University President Sally Kornbluth had made a point at the beginning of the school year to speak out against MIT students who lifted up the Boston Mapping Project, an attempt to expose and isolate groups connected to the Jewish community.

DEEPER. For more about the insidious Boston Mapping Project, read ADL’s explainer.

Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future. Seton Hill University is hosting a Holocaust education conference, aimed at equipping K-12 educators with tools to teach this critical history. The conference will focus on personal stories of Holocaust victims, survivors and resistors to make the history relatable and impactful for students. “We need to hear their stories,” said James Paharik, director of the university’s National Catholic Center of Holocaust Education. “It’s still relevant to things that happen today when people are caught up in violence and political turmoil.”

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The Open Danger of Closed Minds. Molly Phillips, a student at England's University of Exeter, sees an urgent need for constructive conversation to provide history and context to the protesters who are opposed to Israel's very existence. She notes an event where anti-Israel demonstrators disrupted a speaking engagement by an Arab-Israeli activist and staunch coexistence promoter, unwilling to even engage in a thought-provoking discussion. She noted the protests going on at her campus against collaboration with Tel Aviv University, a collaboration that doesn't actually exist, and she strongly vows that "Protests full of lies, calling us 'spies' and 'baby killers' is something that we cannot tolerate."

Coming Back in Kfar Aza. The first full rebuild of a Gaza-border neighborhood since the October 7 massacre last year will be in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, thanks to the grandson of a woman murdered that day, and an Israeli organization, Brothers and Sisters in Arms, that heeded his call. This came about because after Omri Ronen finished his recent IDF service during the crisis, he wanted to do something to honor his slain grandmother. He decided to start with reviving an area for teens: “I wanted the young people’s area renovated first because the young people are the life of the kibbutz.” Now, after 6,000 people responded to the call for volunteers, the project is planned to be completed by the first night of Hanukkah this December.

(Brothers and Sisters in Arms volunteers | Source: brothersandsistersforisrael.org)

Editor's Note: As we noted in this newsletter earlier this week, Simmons College is actively investigating an incident of antisemitic vandalism of a sukkah on campus. They have not yet identified a perpetrator or group behind the heinous act. We indicated otherwise in our initial summary of the news item.

• 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.
• Faculty and Staff — support for impacted faculty and staff, and guidance on how to discuss what constitutes antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and how to provide help to students and colleagues.
• 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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