During the coming weeks, colleges and universities across North America will be on winter break. ADL's Campus Crisis Alert will send out an edition each Tuesday. We will publish additional special editions as needed based on the news. The once-a-week pace begins during the week of Dec. 16. We'll resume our daily edition on Jan. 6.

George Mason. It’s extraordinary that police reportedly found firearms, ammunition & extremist materials — including Hamas & Hezbollah flags — in the home of 2 college students — but it was “totally predictable,” according to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. ADL also praised law enforcement and university officials for taking swift action to ensure the community’s safety. They had searched the home of two Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) leaders who had recently been barred from campus over concerns about anti-Israel vandalism. According to a media report, the search turned up guns, flags from the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, and signs saying “death to America” and “death to Jews.” The school’s SJP chapter is currently under an interim suspension.

(Images from George Mason’s suspended SJP chapter. Source: sjp.mason)

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Private K-12 Schools. At the recent National Association of Independent Schools' (NAIS) People of Color Conference, several speakers used extreme, biased anti-Israel rhetoric, including falsely accusing Israel of "genocide" and downplaying the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. The misuse of terms like genocide not only demonizes Israel but diminishes the severity of true genocides recognized throughout history. The values of NAIS include diversity, inclusion and empowering communities. Yet, this conference undermined these principles by fostering an unwelcome environment for Jewish students and educators. Today, ADL and many other organizations signed a joint letter to NAIS calling on them to take action by issuing an apology for the antisemitism at the conference, and declining to provide a stage for similar hostility at future events.

👉 TAKE ACTION: Send a note to NAIS to tell them that they need to do better to protect Jewish students and educators. Click here to send a letter to NAIS leaders.

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Colleges + Social Media. People ages 18-29, which includes much of the college student population, get at least some of their news from social media, according to a recent study. As a column in JPost by a University of Florida student noted, “#FreePalestine is used in 35 million videos on TikTok and 11.1 million posts on Instagram, about 28 times more than #StandwithIsrael.” This inevitably has an impact on students, nudging some of them from neutrality into in-person protests that can mimic the online anger that is fed by anti-Israel activists.

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Introducing Linda McMahon. Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, pledged to address rising campus antisemitism during her confirmation meetings on Capitol Hill this week. McMahon condemned recent incidents of violence and bigotry on college campuses, stating, “I absolutely abhor any kind of violence that we have seen on campus. It should not be allowed.” McMahon’s platform includes combating antisemitism, Holocaust denial and maligning foreign influence on campuses, though some lawmakers are seeking more specific commitments. Her confirmation process has reignited debates about how the Department of Education can protect students from hate while fostering a safe academic environment.

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Princeton. Two events on Princeton University’s campus showcased the divide in dialogue over Israel-Palestinian issues. Mosab Hassan Yousef, known as the “Son of Hamas, ” spoke to 350 attendees about his pro-Israel views in a talk hosted by Tigers for Israel and other groups. Simultaneously, human rights scholar Rabea Eghbariah addressed a crowd of 120 on the case for Palestinian legal recognition at an event sponsored by university departments. Despite their proximity, both events proceeded without incident, highlighting what some students described as a "siloed" campus climate. Princeton administrators have pointed to campus programming as a platform for meaningful discussion, but students on both sides of the issue report that true dialogue remains far off.

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Harvard. Alan M. Garber, Harvard President, is encouraging faculty to practice the university’s right of free speech by discouraging and condemning certain kinds of antisemitic, racist and other hateful rhetoric. This comes after Garber was under fire for personally condemning a heinous statement posted by the Undergraduate Palestine Solidary Committee on the anniversary of October 7. Garber stated, “Although I don’t agree with the statement — in fact, there are aspects of it that I personally find offensive — I am not about to make University statements about matters of public affairs that are not part of the core of the University.” He even took a strong stance on a recent protest by the Harvard Jews 4 Palestine group, where students were chanting “Zionists not welcome here,” outside of the university Hillel center. We hope other universities follow suit in shutting down this type of language and behavior that is spreading hate like wildfire on college campuses.

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Campus Crackdown in Canada. A report on antisemitism and one on Islamophobia — drafted by the House of Commons committee on justice and human rights — are influencing how the more liberal New Democratic Party (NDP) and more conservative Bloc Québécois, in Canada are thinking about the crisis on college campuses. The report on antisemitism calls for universities to ensure that encampments, hate speech at protests and symbols linked to terrorist groups, are banned and not to be tolerated. In the report on Islamophobia, the promotion of freedom of expression and academic freedom, as well as an increase in Arab, Muslim and Palestinian faculty members is encouraged. The NDP and Bloc have varying views and opinions on both reports, supporting some of the recommendations but also opposing many. Standing order requires that the government respond to the committee’s reports, but it sounds like it may take much longer than anticipated with the varying views in Parliament.

Building Community. The planned standalone Grinspoon Hillel building at Cornell University hit another benchmark this week, signing an agreement with the school to move towards construction, now that they have raised a sizeable chunk of the funds needed. As one of the last Ivy League schools without a standalone Hillel center, this project underscores Hillel’s vital role as a bridge between Jewish students and the broader campus community. With approximately 1,000 non-Jewish allies, friends and classmates attending Hillel events annually, the new center will serve as “a place where [Jewish students] can be themselves, find support, and belong.” Its timely arrival comes amid heightened tensions on college campuses nationwide.

Parent Power. Global Jewish organization, “Momentum, ” has organized an eight-day trip to Israel with groups of 100 women from all across America. The journey aims to “inspire Jewish women to lead a Jewish future by becoming more connected to their identity, heritage and Israel.” Through the Momentum trip, Jewish parents from around the world — mostly mothers — gain the education and empowerment to bring change back to their home communities. As noted in the media source, “Since Oct. 7, the organization has brought some 800 participants from 15 countries to bear witness to Israel’s story and share what they heard with their own communities when they return home.” We applaud you, Momentum, for the incredible work your organization is doing every day.

(Source: Aviram Valdman)

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A New Home Base. Lone soldiers from North America, many from Reform or Conservative backgrounds, will soon have a new option for support during their IDF service. Hannaton Educational Center in the Galilee is launching a program to host lone soldiers in a pluralistic kibbutz community, filling a gap between the traditional choices of Orthodox or secular kibbutzim. With new dormitories opening in August, Hannaton will provide not just a place to stay but an inclusive environment that values the diverse Jewish identities of these dedicated soldiers. “These soldiers have made very difficult efforts to become part of Israel,” said Hannaton’s director, Yoav Ende. “We need to ask ourselves what we are doing to take care of them.”

(Source: Hannaton Mechina Program)

• 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!

Do you have something to share with us? Please email us at [email protected] with any suggestions, questions, photos or videos.