A very difficult and emotional day in Israel. The bodies of four murdered Israeli hostages have been returned to Israel. The body of Oded Lifshitz, has been identified. Oded was an 84-year-old journalist, peace activist, and great-grandfather. May Oded's memory forever be a blessing.

The bodies of three other slain hostages are still undergoing forensic tests to determine their identity; during this difficult time, we urge everyone to respect the families’ wishes and refrain from eulogizing their loved ones until the families receive final confirmation of their identities.

We have a responsibility—to remember, to demand, to fight for those still being held. We must #BringThemAllHome.

Princeton. A talk by Norman Finkelstein at Princeton University has once again raised eyebrows. Finkelstein, whom ADL has described as “an anti-Israel academic whose career has been marked by a vitriolic hatred of Zionism and Israel," spoke at an event hosted by Princeton’s SJP chapter. During his speech, he claimed Israel’s military response to Hamas places it "squarely in the terrain of genocide.” At a previous event at Princeton in 2019 (yes, he’s been invited back) Finkelstein invoked an antisemitic trope, saying, “They [the Israelis] are biped bloodhounds drinking the blood of one million [Palestinian] children” and he accused an IDF veteran in the audience of being a “concentration camp guard.”

(Finkelstein, at left, and moderator on stage. Source: Annie Rupertus / The Daily Princetonian)

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Montreal. Concordia and McGill — both Montreal area universities continue to face regular anti-Israel protests despite the Hamas ceasefire. At Concordia, students recently rallied for divestment from companies linked to Israel, although their motions for the Board of Governors were delayed until April due to a missed submission deadline. Meanwhile, at McGill, anti-Israel vandals smashed windows and wrote “free Palestine” on university property. This follows a 10-week encampment that many Jewish students described as creating a hostile campus environment. University officials have condemned the divestment vote while affirming students' right to peacefully protest.

(Protesters wave flags and chant in front of Concordia's Guy-de-Maisonneuve building on Feb. 6 | Source: Matthew Daldalian)

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Columbia. Columbia University Interim President Prof. Katrina Armstrong reaffirmed the university’s commitment to combating antisemitism during a meeting with Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch on Monday. The meeting, part of Kisch’s visit to the U.S., focused on addressing campus antisemitism and strengthening academic collaborations between Israel and the U.S. Armstrong emphasized Columbia’s ongoing efforts to ensure a safe environment for Jewish and Israeli students and faculty, highlighting steps already taken to counter antisemitic incidents. Kisch later praised Armstrong’s leadership, stating, “The fight against antisemitism on American academic campuses is essential, and I am pleased to see that Columbia University’s Interim President is taking decisive action to eradicate this phenomenon. I hope other universities will follow her lead.”

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UCLA. 150 protesters gathered at UCLA’s Dickson Plaza to call for UC divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military and to reinstate two pro-student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Graduate SJP, placed on interim suspension after a violent Feb. 5 protest outside a UC regent’s home. Protesters carried Palestinian flags, chanted slogans and held signs condemning UCLA’s actions and the regent’s wealth. UCLA police confirmed that protesters violated campus time, place and manner rules on demonstrations, and one demonstrator, a non-student, was arrested for a felony.

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Northwest Florida. The Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of West Florida has raised concerns from the Florida Jewish Legislative Caucus about the appointee’s “history of antisemitic and misogynistic rhetoric.” ADL Florida echoed these concerns, reaffirming Florida’s strong record of addressing antisemitism on college campuses, emphasizing that the appointee's “statements marginalizing women, Jews, and others are never acceptable.”

🎟 Interested in Addressing Antisemitism on Campus?
Join ADL and other leading voices on March 3-4 in NYC at Never Is Now, the World's Largest Summit on Antisemitism and Hate. Engage in panels and workshops designed to equip you with tools to advocate against antisemitism on college campuses.

Persistent “Pest.” A longtime Sarah Lawrence College professor alleges that the institution fosters a “pervasive anti-Jewish environment,” citing what he describes as multiple incidents of harassment toward Jewish Zionist students. He claims several of those students left campus or switched to remote learning due to safety concerns, and says the college is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for possible Title VI violations. According to the professor, Sarah Lawrence has opted not to settle the Title VI complaint. He further reports that after he published an article on these issues, alumni on social media attacked him personally rather than engaging with his claims, with one commenter calling him a “pest”—a term historically used to dehumanize Jews. The college has not issued a public response to these allegations.

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Law Student Objects: No Justice in Hosting a Convicted Terrorist. Georgetown law student Julia Wax Vanderwiel opposed an event hosted by Georgetown Law Students for Justice in Palestine featuring Ribhi Karajah, a former prisoner with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Karajah was convicted for failing to report a 2019 West Bank bombing that killed an Israeli teenager. Wax Vanderwiel voiced her concerns directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a roundtable discussion and urged Georgetown Law administrators to cancel the event. Despite her efforts, the university provided limited responses. The event was ultimately postponed due to "safety concerns," though administrators did not explicitly denounce Karajah. Wax Vanderwiel criticized the university’s handling of the situation, arguing that Jewish students' safety should not require intervention from high-level political figures.

Bleat the Heat. Israel is leveraging an ancient and sustainable method to prevent wildfires, deploying over 50,000 goats, sheep and antelopes to clear flammable vegetation. By grazing on dry undergrowth, these animals reduce the risk of fires spreading, creating natural buffer zones in high-risk areas. “The goal is to create buffer lines and thereby reduce the combustible materials that endanger forest areas during a fire,” said Ilan Tibi, Director of KKL-JNF. The initiative has already prevented approximately 80% of fires in open areas. Even the IDF has utilized these "woolly warriors" to mitigate fire hazards and control snake populations on military bases. The IDF’s Nature Defense Team is a special unit created to manage these four-legged firefighters.

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A Helmsley Palace. Israel’s Holon Institute of Technology is about to grow thanks to a major donation that will go towards a state-of-the-art Medical Technology Building that will “elevate healthcare education, research, and practice throughout Israel.” The grant comes from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the new facility is intended to foster innovation in patient-centered healthcare using AI, health analytics, medical device design and telemedicine.

• 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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