More Than 70% of Antisemitic Incidents on College Campuses Occurred In-Person, Report Says

A report released by Jewish on Campus (JOC) in collaboration with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on February 7 found that more than 70% of antisemitic incidents on college campuses worldwide in 2021 occurred in person, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Of all the antisemitic incidents submitted to JOC, 93.5% were from undergraduate students and 67.7% of the victims were female. Thirty-five and a half percent of the victims identified as reform Jews, 23.2% identified as conservative, 20.2% identified as “Just Jewish” and 7.9% identified as Modern Orthodox. The types of antisemitism broke down as 241 incidents of “historical antisemitism,” 191 as “demonization of Israel,” 73 as “denying self-determination” and 22 as “condoning terrorism.” But among physical assaults, demonization of Israel was the highest at 44%, followed by denying self-determination at 31% and historical antisemitism at 18%.

The report found that the most submissions of antisemitic incidents received by JOC were in January and then from March-November. The schools with the highest number of submissions were University of Vermont (58), Tufts University (38) and George Washington University (25); when student population was adjusted for, Moravian College became the highest at 6.67 submissions per 100 Jewish students, Oklahoma State University at five submissions per 100 Jewish students and Tufts University at 3.4 per 100 Jewish students.

The report did acknowledge that JOC could only corroborate “a small proportion” of the reported incidents they received, but JOC views this as “an advantage” since “it is through uniquely personal that most information on antisemitism can be extrapolated.”

“Antisemitism on campus is a crisis that must be immediately addressed,” JOC CEO Julia Jassey said in a statement. “To do so, we need a clear understanding of the issue. This report takes a year of data submitted to Jewish on Campus by hundreds of students around the world and compiles it to give a robust understanding of what antisemitism truly looks like on campus.”

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted, “Disturbing new findings from @JewishonCampus_ reveal that most antisemitic incidents on college campuses happen in person – even at a time when many classes are virtual. We must take #antisemitism on campus seriously.”

Disturbing new findings from @JewishonCampus_ reveal that most antisemitic incidents on college campuses happen in person – even at a time when many classes are virtual. We must take #antisemitism on campus seriously. https://t.co/ICGpYvINio

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 8, 2022