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John, it’s clear from a new survey we conducted jointly with Hillel International that students face extensive antisemitism and hate on campus. We must take action to ensure that every Jewish student feels safe and empowered to express their values and their identities when they are in the classroom, residence halls, online classes and throughout campus life.
“Expressing support for the Jewish community or Israel is immediately met with ostracizing and harassment to the point of not being able to talk about it in class.”
— Student at a large northeastern university
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One in three students personally experienced antisemitic hate directed at them in the last academic year, the survey revealed. Adam Lehman, President and CEO of Hillel International reminds us that “antisemitism and hate are of growing concern for Jewish college students and merits the serious attention of university leaders across the country.”
After you read this alarming new report, join the conversation about the results at ADL’s Never Is Now summit on Tuesday, Nov. 9, where Lehman, Hillel professionals and student leaders will discuss antisemitism, the campus climate and what to do when an incident occurs.
The number of incidents on campus may be higher than previously thought, as the survey also found that most students who experienced antisemitic activity on campus did not report it.
What kinds of incidents are most common?
Antisemitic violence on campus is rare. However, even the one percent of antisemitic incidents reported in the survey that were physical attacks, and the one percent that were physical threats, are far too many. The most common forms of antisemitism cited in the survey were offensive comments and slurs online or in person, but vandalism, posters and swastikas, as well as antisemitism in campus media were all reported as well.
“One time, I sat next to someone in my political science class and I put my phone on the table with an ‘I Celebrate Chanukah’ sticker on the case. The person next to me pulled out his laptop with a Confederate flag sticker, looked at my phone case, and moved across the room. Ever since then, I try not to show my Judaism.”
— Student at a large
southern university
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The Jewish students surveyed expressed concern about antisemitism from the political left, center, and right, leading fifteen percent of Jewish college students to report that they felt the need to hide their Jewish identity from others on campus, and 12 percent to say they had been blamed for the actions of the Israel government because they are Jewish.
Building Resilience
Jewish students — like all students — deserve to feel safe and accepted in their college communities. However, they cannot do this when they fear for their safety and feel the need to hide their Jewish identity from others.
In order to address these issues, colleges and universities should take the following steps:
- Appropriate inclusion of antisemitism in orientations and training for students, faculty, staff and the administration.
- Make reporting acts of antisemitism on campus easier and more visible.
- Address acts of antisemitism and take concrete steps to investigate incidents.
- Support Jewish life on campus.
We encourage you to read the report about this new survey, and to support the work of ADL and Hillel to improve the lives of Jewish students.
| Sincerely, |
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| Jonathan Greenblatt |
| CEO and National Director |
| ADL |
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