95 Percent of Jewish College Students Say Anti-Semitism is ‘Problem’ on Campus, 80 Percent ‘Have Experienced It Personally’: Report

Ninety-five percent of Jewish college students believe anti-Semitism “is a problem on their campuses,” while at least 80 percent “have experienced it personally,” according to a new report.

The report was released by Alums for Campus Fairness, an alumni network that combats anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activity on college and university campuses, and was conducted between March 25 and June 14.

Nearly all current Jewish college students and recent graduates said anti-Semitism is or was a problem on their campus, but recent graduates were more likely to say it was a “minor” problem (57 percent) than a major one (39%).

Forty-seven percent of current Jewish college students responded that anti-Semitism is getting worse on campus, 37 percent said it is staying about the same and 16 percent said it is getting better.

The students and recent graduates who said “anti-Semitism on campus is getting worse are mostly from private schools, while those who say it is staying about the same or getting better attend or attended state schools,” according to the report.

“However, students and grads who attended a state school are more likely to have been physically threatened themselves or know someone who was physically threatened, as compared to respondents from a private school,” added the report.

Additionally, according to the report, “students and grads who attended school in the West were more likely to report cases of anti-Semitic incidents and were more likely to perceive anti-Semitism as a major problem on their campus as compared to all other regions in the U.S.”

The study includes disturbing quotes from unnamed students and recent graduates describing a hostile environment for Jewish or pro-Israel students on their unnamed campus. Incidents include, but are not limited to, a current student saying she was asked if she’s “a Zionist” in response to her telling them she’s Jewish; hearing a girl in her class saying that there’s a need to “stop demonizing Hitler”; seeing swastikas and other Nazi symbols around campus; and being told by a “campus police officer … I am too sensitive about above poster and that he has Jewish friends and he’d been to Israel so he knows what he’s talking about.”

Other quotes of incidents include an alum of an unnamed college or university in the Southeast: “I’ve had pennies thrown at me people saying ‘you gonna pick that up [J]ew?’”

Another one included a Goucher College student: “One night after coming home from a Cross Country meet I went back to my room to find my roommates had a friend over. He started off the conversation talking about his dislike of refugees entering the US. Before I knew it he was talking about how Hitler wasn’t such a bad guy and the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust was exaggerated. I then said ‘you know I’m Jewish right?’ And he responded ‘yeah I could tell from the moment you walked into the room.’”

There was a quote from a University of Connecticut student: “UConn has experienced seven antisemitic incidents in the year and three during Passover alone. Each act has gotten bigger and bolder and the students have become frightened.”