Campus Antisemitism
“Have we really gotten to the point where one student government leader can de-platform Jewish students and delegitimize a well-known pro-Israel student group for the ‘crime’ of defending themselves on social media?” said Jacob Baime, CEO of Israel on Campus Coalition.
Members of Hillel and other pro-Israel campus organizations set up a table with literature on the outskirts of the rally to challenge the one-sided anti-Semitic narrative of Students for Justice in Palestine.
A total of 111 cases were recorded at British universities—a 59 percent rise from the 70 cases recorded during the 2019-20 school year.
The 79 organizations also asked university president Tim Sands to affirm his commitment to ensuring that “no student will be subject to unfair discrimination or harassment because of the implementation of such a boycott on campus.”
The student union debating society at the London School of Economics faced criticism for inviting Tzipi Hotovely.
“Let us not be shy about our Judaism or cower in the face of hate. Let us stand proudly as Jews and show Jewish pride,” said Rabbi Shmuel Tiechtel, director of Rohr Chabad at ASU in Tempe, Ariz.
“Someone came and tried to make Jewish students feel attacked; our response was to do the opposite,” said Rabbi Yudi Steiner, director of the Rohr Chabad at GW.
Rabbi Yudi Steiner, director of the Rohr Chabad at GW, said “what I’m hoping to do today is lead by example and model how I think the Jewish response, from Jewish students especially, should be, and that is what we will talk about the rally.”
Aviva Rosenschein, International Campus Director for CAMERA, said it was “shocking” that it would call for the boycott of all Israeli academics.
“If the university does nothing about attacks like this, it effectively condones them, sending an ugly message and setting a dangerous precedent,” said Rachel Lerman, vice chair of the Brandeis Center.
The national questionnaire included 756 undergraduate students who identify as Jewish and are currently enrolled in 270 different four-year colleges and universities across America.
“That one in four American Jews has been the target of anti-Semitism over the past year alone, and that four out of 10 have taken steps to conceal their Jewishness or curtail their activities as a result should alarm Americans,” said AJC CEO David Harris in a statement. “Now is the time for American society to stand up and say ‘Enough is enough.’ ”
