Antisemitism on Campus: Understanding Hostility to Jews and Israel
Graham Wright, Shahar Hecht, Sasha Volodarsky, and Leonard Saxe
August 2024
We know that Jewish students have experienced a heightened hostile environment on many college campuses since October 7. But what are the factors that contribute to that climate? This study aims to understand the underlying influences that contribute to the perception of antisemitism on campus; in particular, how non-Jewish students think about Jews and Israel and how these views relate to their other political beliefs or philosophical outlooks. The data for the study were collected in the spring semester of 2024, in collaboration with College Pulse, from undergraduate students at 60 schools with large Jewish student bodies.
Key Findings
In this study, we assessed the reactions of non-Jewish students to nine explicitly negative beliefs about Jews and Israel. We selected beliefs that our prior research indicated most Jewish students considered to be antisemitic, or which could contribute to a campus climate where Jews are discriminated against, harassed, or excluded. Multivariate statistical analyses found that, with respect to these beliefs, non-Jewish students fell into one of four groups:
- 66% of non-Jewish students did not display any hostility toward Jews or Israel and their views were not likely to threaten their relationship with their Jewish peers. These students might have contentious disagreements with certain supporters of Israel about the situation in Israel and Gaza, but they did not express hostility to Jews, and their views on Israel were shared by many Jewish students.
- 15% of non-Jewish students were extremely hostile toward Israel but did not express explicitly negative views about Jews. Most of these students felt that Israel does not have a right to exist (a statement that over 90% of Jewish students found antisemitic). They also did not want to be friends with other students who support Israel’s existence, effectively ostracizing nearly all of their Jewish peers. At the same time, these students rejected explicitly anti-Jewish stereotypes and did not express positive views of Hamas or its actions. These students were found almost exclusively on the political left, and their criticism of Israel and support of narratives about “decolonization” were in line with their political orientation.
- 16% of non-Jewish students endorsed at least one explicitly anti-Jewish belief but did not express intense criticism of Israel. These students agreed with traditional anti-Jewish stereotypes like “Jews have too much power in America.” Although they were not especially critical of Israel’s government, they were attracted to anti-Israel rhetoric (such as the claim that “supporters of Israel control the media”) that correspond to traditional anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. Their political views did not differ significantly from the 66% of students who did not express hostility toward Jews or Israel.
- 2% of non-Jewish students were extremely hostile to Jews and Israel. This group endorsed all negative statements about Jews and Israel.
Takeaways
-
Although a majority of students are not hostile to Jews or Israel, colleges and universities need to recognize that there is a minority of students who are contributing to a hostile environment for Jewish students on campus. Educational institutions should treat antisemitism like any other form of prejudice and consider what Jewish students are saying about how antisemitism is manifesting itself on their campuses.
-
Efforts to address antisemitism on campus need to be more carefully targeted. A one-size-fits-all solution to the general problem of antisemitism on campus is unlikely to be effective. Because students who are likely contributing to Jewish students’ perceptions of hostility do not share the same views on these topics (or the same underlying motivations), they may require more than one type of intervention.
-
Colleges and universities can do a better job of exposing students to diverse views and encouraging dialogue across differences. Regardless of their political views, including on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, faculty and educators on campus must help students learn how to express and act on their intense political convictions in a way that does not lead to violence or the ostracism of peers who think differently.
-
Leveraging research is important. Universities should draw on their own research capacity to make more data-informed decisions about responding to antisemitism. This includes supporting research aimed at understanding antisemitism or evaluating the effectiveness of proposed solutions.