Jewish students, community leaders and influencers gathered in New York City on Sunday for the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s “Rise & Respond: Global Student Summit Against Antisemitism.”
The event, which brought together more than 300 attendees from universities worldwide, aimed to confront the disturbing rise in antisemitism at higher education institutions in North America.
At the summit, CAM introduced the FACE Antisemitism Initiative, a comprehensive plan urging university administrators, faculty and lawmakers to take decisive action against on-campus Jew-hatred.
The plan outlines 10 steps, including the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, clear processes for reporting antisemitic incidents and mandatory antisemitism education programs for students, faculty and staff.
The FACE Antisemitism Initiative also calls for transparency in disclosing funds received from foreign governments and NGOs.
The plan also stresses the need for institutions to take a stance against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, as well as investigate the activities of groups associated with hate speech, such as Students for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine.
Through its new HEAT Map & Advocacy Platform, CAM seeks to identify and expose individuals, including professors and administrators, who promote antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric on college campuses.
The platform aims to hold these individuals accountable by tracking their actions and providing real-time visualizations of their influence.
“We have provided the tools to make sure the antisemitic encampments, the storming of buildings and classes to silence Jewish professors and students are a thing of the past, and ensure university campuses are places where all can learn safely and securely,” said CAM CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa.
“It is now up to the universities to adopt this plan of action in order to get back to the places of learning, rather than scenes of conflict and battlegrounds, that they are meant to be,” he added.
Sunday’s event featured speakers including Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) and Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, who strongly supported CAM’s latest initiative.
Michael Kaminsky, a DePaul University student who was assaulted last year by unknown assailants, was presented with CAM’s Student Activist Award. Kaminsky, who has since become a vocal advocate against Jew-hatred, emphasized the importance of standing up to hate, urging attendees to remember the Jewish people’s legacy of resilience.
According to CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center, 742 anti-Jewish incidents were reported across the United States in 2024, a 120.8% increase compared to the previous year, which already saw a dramatic rise following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
