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Northwestern. The Trump administration has restored $790 million in federal funding to Northwestern University after a $75 million settlement requiring sweeping reforms to address campus antisemitism. As part of the agreement, Northwestern terminated its controversial “Deering Meadow” pact
with anti-Israel protestors and committed to new antisemitism training, protest guidelines and measures to safeguard academic integrity. Northwestern had received a D (and later an F) in ADL’s Campus Antisemitism Report Card,
and ADL was joined by other organizations in calling for President Schill’s resignation. Since then, the university has overhauled key policies, expanded mandatory antisemitism trainings, reviewed its civil rights processes and strengthened institutional accountability. Northwestern’s grade in ADL’s Report Card rose to a C in 2025 after creating a new presidential advisory council on Jewish life.
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The Deering Meadow anti-Israel encampment in 2024. (Source: William Tong/The Daily Northwestern) |
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More from Northwestern... Finals? Winter break? Doesn’t matter for Northwestern’s Jewish students – Hanukkah is starting now! Northwestern’s Hillel is rolling out Latkepalooza, a campus favorite packed with mocktails, poker, sufganiyot and of course enough latkes to fuel them until finals are over. Meanwhile, Chabad is lighting up Evanston with a brand new 15-foot menorah in Fountain Square, because nothing says “resilience” like shining brightly in the middle of winter.
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Cornell. You might think that a labor org for grad students would prioritize fair wages, workplace treatment or time off or other actual union-relevant concerns. But not at Cornell University, where Cornell Graduate Students United just spent their time passing a referendum to declare “International Solidarity with the Palestinian Liberation Struggle” and promoting anti-Israel BDS goals. The alarmingly broad
statement declares support for Palestinians “resisting a genocide… by any means necessary.” Grinspoon Hillel at Cornell and the Jewish Graduate Student Association condemned the statement for promoting a hostile environment for all students, including Jewish students.
DEEPER. Not sure what BDS is all about? See ADL's Guide to Understanding and Countering BDS Calls.
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DePaul. Two Jewish DePaul University students were attacked in broad daylight in November of last year. One needed wrist surgery, the other had a concussion. The assailant pleaded guilty on Tuesday. The punishment?
Two years probation, 100 hours of community service and a round of collective outrage. Jewish leaders called the sentence “a profound failure” and “a signal that violence against Jews doesn’t carry real consequences in this city.” Meanwhile, the alleged second attacker is still on the loose, and DePaul is facing a lawsuit for allegedly letting it all unfold on their watch. In short: justice knocked, but the court only half-opened the door.
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The Campus to Israel Pipeline. Some American Jewish college students aren’t just moving out of their dorms and apartments when they graduate. They’re moving out of the country, beckoned by the prospect of fresh hummus and a welcoming Jewish culture. Nefesh B’Nefesh and MASA Israel Journey are among the groups welcoming more young people moving to Israel after college, with double-digit growth rates last year. Columbia University
student Sonya Poznansky, for example, was worn down by the campus climate she experienced, so she headed to the Weizmann Institute of Science after graduation. “Going to Israel was part of a healing process I couldn’t begin at Columbia. I realized I could not stay in a culture where my pain and grief are celebrated.”
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(Source: MASA Israel Journey) |
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Global Academic BDS. Academic boycotts against Israeli scholars are accelerating alarmingly.
A new report from Israel’s Academic Boycott Monitoring Team counts roughly 1,000 cases of exclusion -- double the number tracked in March -- with Western Europe driving the spike. The severe consequences? Researchers frozen out of collaborations, grants drying up and partnerships quietly severed. Even with a ceasefire in place, the pressure is rising, not receding, leaving Israeli academia facing a troubling and widening isolation.
DEEPER: To learn more about the devastating impacts of academic boycotts read ADL’s backgrounder. ADL reports on antisemitism targeting faculty and
professional academic associations paint the same picture: the fallout is widespread and impossible to ignore. | 
