ADL Head Tells Jewish Parents ‘Go in Eyes Wide Open’ Following Antisemitism Report Card for Schools: ‘Stories That I Heard Are Abominable’
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told CNBC on Friday he’s heard “abominable” stories from Jewish students about the antisemitism they’ve faced on university campuses.
Greenblatt joined Squawk Box to discuss the ADL’s recent report card for universities which gave a failing grade to Harvard and 12 other universities on their response to reports of antisemitism.
Greenblatt and others have warned about growing antisemitism on college campuses amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“At a time when antisemitic incidents on campus are at historic levels, administrators need to adopt new policies to address this scourge and have the willingness to enforce existing codes of conduct to ensure all students are safe,” Greenblatt said in a statement with the release of the report card.
The report card included an assessment of 85 schools. Two received an “A,” 17 received a “B,” 29 received a “C,” 24 received a “D,” and 13 got slapped with an “F.”
Greenblatt told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Friday that his own son attends one of the schools that got a low grade in the report card. He argued the grade does not encapsulate all of the universities, but it is a warning for parents and students.
“What I’m saying is go in eyes wide open. You need to know and your student needs to prepare for what’s going to happen,” he said.
Greenblatt singled out Harvard when giving an example of the lack of action he’s seen in a university administration, though he said he continues working with administrators to address concerns.
“I spent the day yesterday at Harvard Law School. This is arguably the top law school, not just in the United States, in the world, and the stories that I heard from the Jewish students were abominable,” he said. “I heard about a student government literally throwing the rules out the window in order to pass anti-Israel resolutions. I heard about Jewish students who have been isolated, alienated, and I heard about an administration that’s not helping them.”
He added later, “If you haven’t taken the right actions, if you’re not supporting your Jewish students, the grade speaks for itself.”
The ADL reported an “unprecedented” rise in reports of antisemitic incidents on college campuses following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which left more than 1,000 dead and hundreds more kidnapped. Israel has since been striking Gaza in an attempt to eliminate Hamas, leading to thousands of civilian deaths amid calls for a ceasefire from critics.
Watch above via CNBC.
