Pixabay A new survey published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Hillel International found that a third of Jewish college students say they have experienced antisemitism on campus.
The October 26 survey, which polled 400,000 students over more than 1,000 college campuses, found that 32% said they encountered some sort of antisemitic experience and 79% of them said it happened more than once; 19% said they were targeted with antisemitic comments online and 13% said they experienced it in person. Only 1% said they were physically attacked due to being Jewish. Thirty-one percent said they witnessed any antisemitic incident, even those that weren’t targeting them personally; in total, 43% said they were targeted with antisemitism or witnessed it happening elsewhere.
Additionally, 15% said they felt the need to conceal their Jewish identity on campus; 12% said they were blamed for the actions of the Israeli government and 10% said they felt unwelcome at a campus organization because of their “actual or perceived support for Israel as a Jew.” But 74% of students who were active in the campus Jewish community said they felt safe being openly Jewish on campus; that number was 65% for those who were not active in the campus Jewish community. Sixty-nine percent said they were concerned about antisemitism from the right on campus and 62% said they were concerned about antisemitism from the left.
One student told the ADL and Hillel that “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” and another said that there was “leftist rage” toward Jewish students over the actions of the Israeli government, prompting that student to hide their Jewish identity.
Nearly 50% believe there needs to be change in how their campus handles antisemitism, as some believe their university or college are not well-informed on the matter and may not even investigate antisemitic incidents. One student told the ADL and Hillel that their school’s staff “was widely ill-equipped to deal with antisemitism, and many of them even made accidentally offensive comments while working with us. I also learned that antisemitism is not covered in the diversity, equality and inclusion training for employees, which explains a lot but is unacceptable.”
The ADL and Hillel urge universities and colleges to include antisemitism in orientations and trainings on campus and better address antisemitic incidents.
“Jewish students are facing more antisemitism and hate on college campuses than we previously thought,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We need to ensure that every Jewish student feels safe and empowered to express their Jewish values and their whole selves when they are in the classroom, residence halls and throughout campus life.”
Adam Lehman, President and CEO of Hillel International, also said in a statement: “This survey makes clear that antisemitism and hate are of growing concern for Jewish college students and merits the serious attention of university leaders across the country. These findings underscore the importance of our work at Hillel engaging with university administrators to address the campus climate for Jewish students and ensure that all students can live and study in a safe and welcoming environment.”
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