The Latest Hotspots of Campus Antisemitism and Anti-Israelism

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Dear Colleagues:

Shana Tova!

Our friend and colleague Leonard Saxe recently released a new study on the Hotspots of Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Hostility on US Campuses. Among the key findings Saxe and company underscored the following:

  • CUNY-Brooklyn, Northwestern, and many of the schools in the University of California system, are “hotspots” where the majority of Jewish students perceive a hostile environment toward Israel, and over one quarter perceive a general environment of hostility toward Jews on their campus. On these campuses it appears that the high rates of antisemitic harassment and hostility are largely driven by hostility toward Israel.
  • At Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Illinois, hostility toward Jews and antisemitic harassment are relatively high but do not seem to be highly connected to criticism of Israel. At these schools, more traditional antisemitic stereotypes and tropes, rather than criticism of Israel’s politics, seem to be driving the perceived hostility toward Jews.
  • There are many schools where antisemitism and hostility to Israel are negligible. Respondents at several large private universities, including U of Miami, Wash U, and Syracuse perceive very little hostility toward Israel, and virtually all of these respondents disagree that there is a hostile environment toward Jews.
  • One of the strongest predictors of perceiving a hostile climate toward Israel and Jews is the presence of an active Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group on campus.

The above is another helpful tool that allows us to map out where we are seeing significant growth in anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activity as well as help prioritize where we should be focusing our efforts against the BDS movement.

Separately and disturbing, it is worth noting that the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation,” annual conference took place between October 14-17. During the final day of the conference which was their congressional Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, members of the group were urged to meet with their representatives to further the organization’s agenda  – that is promoting and advocating for BDS.

As always, we welcome your feedback and article submissions.

Sincerely,

Asaf Romirowsky, PhD

The Latest Hotspots of Campus Antisemitism and Anti-Israelism

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AUTHOR

Asaf Romirowsky

Asaf Romirowsky PhD, is the Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME). Romirowsky is also a fellow at the Middle East Forum and a Professor ​[Affiliate] at the University​ of Haifa. Trained as a Middle East historian he holds a PhD in Middle East and Mediterranean Studies from King's College London, UK and has published widely on various aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict and American foreign policy in the Middle East, as well as on Israeli and Zionist history.

Romirowsky is co-author of Religion, Politics, and the Origins of Palestine Refugee Relief and a contributor to The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel.

Romirowsky’s publicly-engaged scholarship has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The National Interest, The American Interest , The New Republic, The Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Ynet and Tablet among other online and print media outlets


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