Jewish Students Feel Less Safe on Campus – But Are Still Showing Their Jewish Pride

A new survey from Israel on Campus Coalition, in partnership with Schoen Cooperman Research, shows that since October 7, a majority of Jewish students feel less safe on campus – but most are also willing to stand up and show their Jewish pride.

The ICC/Schoen survey findings came from interviews with 1,000 U.S. adults, 400 American college students and 200 Jewish college students, who revealed that since the Israel-Hamas war began, 73% of them feel they are “less safe” on campus. It also showed that 81% say it’s important that they use their voices to stand with the Jewish community on campus.

Additionally, 77% of Jewish college students believe that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is an antisemitic movement or has antisemitic supporters, and 65% say that it poses a threat to Jewish students.

“Imagine if almost four out of five students from any other group felt targeted and unwelcome on campus,” said Jacob Baime, CEO of ICC. “For Jewish students, that’s the disturbing reality due to BDS votes. BDS is not about free speech. It’s about free hate. It’s time for university leaders to step in and cancel these votes.”

“Imagine if almost four out of five students from any other group felt targeted and unwelcome on campus.” – Jacob Baime

BDS votes, which have been happening at college campuses around the U.S., urge universities to divest from Israel and support BDS, an extremist organization which aims to eliminate the Jewish state.

A majority of Jewish students, 62%, feel it’s important to use their voice to stand against the BDS movement on their college campus, and only 25% believe that pushing back against BDS does more harm than good.

For its part, ICC partners with Jewish and non-Jewish students, inspiring them to advocate for Israel on campus. They send students to Israel to see the truth for themselves, as well as offer six-month fellowships where students can learn about Israel from experts and engage in meaningful dialogue on and off campus.

One ICC fellow, Tessa Veksler, a senior at the University of California, Santa Barbara, recently went viral after showing antisemitic messages on campus, including signs that said “Zionist (sic) Not Allowed” and “When people are occupied, resistance is justified.”

The ICC/Schoen survey showed that college students are more anti-Israel than American adults, but they are largely undecided on whether they support or oppose BDS. A majority, 55%, were unsure where they stood on the movement. However, once they were informed of BDS’ activities, 43% said they believe BDS is antisemitic or has antisemitic supporters, and 36% said it poses a threat to Jewish students.

One thing is clear: Jewish students do not feel protected on college campuses, and action must be taken.

Carly Cooperman, CEO and partner at Schoen Cooperman said, “These findings underscore the urgent need for action on these issues to foster a safer and more inclusive campus environment for Jewish students.”