Anti-Jewish hatred is becoming so prevalent and accepted in American education that deans at a prestigious American university thought that they could joke about it without repercussions. They boldly made light of antisemitism during a discussion about antisemitism. If not for an eagle-eyed attendee, the administrators’ snarky libel would have gone unchallenged.
At the same time, K-12 schools continue to grapple with ethnic identities that minimize and deny Jewish experiences and history. Anti-Jewish hatred at universities and K-12 schools continues to reach record levels.
‘Ancient antisemitic tropes’
Three of the four deans from Columbia University were removed but not fired after being involved in a disturbing group text message exchange during a discussion on Jewish campus life in May. The deans are currently on “indefinite leave.” The discussion—“Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future”—was held at a time of increasing tension for students across America. Police arrested more than 100 students at Columbia’s anti-Israel encampment this spring.
The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce recently released new texts revealing the entire discussion. The messages showed the deans mocked the concerns of “privileged” Jewish students, criticized the Hillel campus rabbi, Yonah Hain, for sounding the alarm on campus antisemitism and invoked the anti-Jewish trope that Jews were enriching themselves.
Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx said: “Jewish students deserve better than to have harassment and threats against them dismissed as ‘privilege,’ and Jewish faculty members deserve better than to be mocked by their colleagues.” She criticized the school for only removing the deans from their positions and not terminating them.
Minouche Shafik, president of the university, stated: “These sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the experiences of members of our Jewish community. They disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes.”
‘Extreme anti-Israel ideologies’
A popular Jewish studies lecturer at the University of California, Irvine was replaced by two anti-Israel professors. The department chair is a member of the group Faculty for Justice in Palestine, which is pressuring the university to cut funding for the Jewish studies center. The chair defended Hamas weeks after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and supports the destruction of Israel. The lecturer, Rabbi Daniel Levine: “Jewish studies departments across the country have been moving towards an anti-Israel activist lens. I see my role as an educator. In my classroom, no one knows my personal views.”
At Columbia, some students are demanding the university rehire a professor who openly supports the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations. A student petition condemns the university for “anti-Palestinian victimization” of the fired professor who praised the Oct. 7 Hamas assault against Israelis.
‘Narrative that negates Israel’
Claims of anti-Palestinian racism are being used to rewrite Jewish history and prevent future arrests of anti-Israel agitators.
A recent decision by Canada’s largest school district is expected to expand into American K-12 schools soon. The Toronto District School Board adopted a strategy to combat anti-Palestinian racism (APR) and rejected the inclusion of anti-Israel racism. The board’s original report did not mention the rising rate of anti-Jewish attacks. The biggest problem voiced by one school board member is that “the definition of APR is an endorsement of a political narrative that negates Israel. You can’t support Israel without being anti-Palestinian.”
The Arab Canadian Lawyers Association published an APR guide that also is being used in America. The Massachusetts Teachers Association cited it during a webinar. Examples in the guide include the usual false accusations against Israel: denying the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and that Jews are colonizing Palestine. The Palestinian right of return promotes the destruction of Israel; rejecting this position is another example of racism. An additional example includes claiming that Palestinian movements are motivated by hate or antisemitism. The Iran-backed terror organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are Palestinian movements dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state and the annihilation of Jews.
Pro-Palestinian activists spent weeks in encampments at dozens of universities across the country. At UCLA, activists blocked Jewish students from accessing certain parts of campus; at Columbia, protesters violently stormed and occupied Hamilton Hall. Law enforcement, including the New York City Police Department, was called in to remove many of the encampments at Columbia.
A lawyer for an American advocacy group that defends supporters of Palestinians, Palestine Legal, claims that these universities engaged in “racist crackdowns against Palestinians and their supporters.” The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating Columbia. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst also is under investigation after police arrested 57 Palestinian students and their supporters for trespassing at an Oct. 25 sit-in.
Additional complaints of APR in America include criticizing universities for condemning the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israelis but not Israel’s response and condemning anti-Israel lesson plans in local schools.
Ethnic Studies: Malicious lies fuel and popularize hate against Jews
Allegations of anti-Palestinian racism in local school districts and at universities echo issues surrounding the ethnic-studies curriculum that began in California. Anti-Israel activists continue to exploit ethnic-studies courses to promote their hateful agenda against Jews and Israel.
California’s Jewish Legislation Caucus is promoting a bill to bolster ethnic-studies guardrails and improve the curriculum transparency process. The JLC also backs a bill to strengthen California university policies to “better address incidents of harassment and intimidation, and to respond appropriately when students call for genocide.”
Points to consider:
- Anti-Israel activists are trying to hijack the American education system.
Activists are increasingly spreading anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bias under the guise of political analysis. In K-12 schools, curricula are sometimes skewed, and Jewish students are bullied based on stereotypes. At universities, the situation is even more pronounced. Some student groups and academic programs promote anti-Israel rhetoric that veers into outright antisemitism, creating a hostile environment for Jewish students. Controversial speakers and biased professors further exacerbate the issue. While legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and actions is valid, the conflation with anti-Jewish ideology undermines education’s mission: enabling unbiased learning and promoting tolerance.
- Columbia University deans unmask anti-Jewish hatred embedded at the executive level.
The deans involved in the group text scandal found humor in discussing how Jews might benefit from the increasingly violent campus antisemitism. Their behavior reveals a broader issue where leaders in education, politics and business downplay the severity of hatred faced by American Jews, a prejudice that often escalates to physical attacks from far-left and far-right extremists. By perpetuating antisemitic tropes like greed, the deans exemplified a dangerous normalization of anti-Jewish attitudes. Their stereotypes of Jews showed a double standard that would not be tolerated if applied to any other minority group. This case emphasizes the pervasive hatred against Jews and the urgent need for aggressive efforts to combat it from the top down.
- Criticism of anti-Israel activists falsely labeled as anti-Palestinian racism.
A new strategy from some anti-Israel activists is to claim that actions taken against individuals promoting hatred of Jews and Israel are a form of anti-Palestinian racism. These false claims are being used to shield anti-Israel agitators from legal consequences and to rewrite Jewish history. This shields activists from accountability, and perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misinformation. It also trivializes the serious nature of bigotry against everyone, including Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians. It is important to combat all forms of hate and discrimination without relying on false narratives that demonize one group over another for political reasons.
- Some ethnic-studies programs distort Jewish and Israeli experiences and history.
Some ethnic studies curricula in American schools present a false and biased narrative about Jews and Israel. These curricula promote a skewed portrayal of Jewish history and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, falsely framing Jews as “oppressors.” This misinformation perpetuates damaging stereotypes about Jews and Israel. This distortion not only misinforms students but also fosters antisemitic attitudes—making Jewish students feel marginalized and misrepresented in their own education. Urgent reforms are necessary for accurate and balanced education about Jewish history and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Biases must be addressed to foster understanding, prevent prejudice and provide a comprehensive education for all American students.
- Dozens of civil-rights lawsuits prove many universities fail to protect their students.
Lawsuits and congressional investigations are becoming increasingly common because universities are failing to uphold their duty to protect all students and staff. Many anti-Israel protesters and their leaders are marginalizing Jewish students, denying them the opportunity to freely express their cultural and religious identities. Some universities ignore or inadequately respond to harassment and discrimination against their Jewish students and staff—from banning Jewish students from events and even entering specific buildings on campus to blaring chants calling for Israel’s destruction. Universities must take decisive action to protect all Jews on campus, ensuring that they remain safe and welcoming spaces for all. Academic institutions that fail to effectively address these hostile actions are complicit in allowing a toxic environment to flourish.