More than half of Jewish students surveyed (57%) reported witnessing or experiencing an antisemitic incident, either on campus or in public, according to findings from a recent joint Jewish on Campus-Ipsos survey.
Julia Jassey
For the national survey, supported by the World Jewish Congress, investigators interviewed 2,020 college students from the general population and 1,022 who identified as Jewish about their perceptions of and experiences with antisemitism.
Findings from the survey include that nearly one-third of Jewish students surveyed (29%) witnessed or experienced an antisemitic incident on their campus; 50% of them witnessed or experienced hate speech; and 72% of them witnessed or experienced microaggressions.
“Our new analysis of the antisemitism Jewish students face – measured on an unprecedented scale – underscores the urgency of our mission to elevate the voices and experiences of Jewish students,” said Julia Jassey, co-founder and CEO of Jewish on Campus. “As the new school year begins, these findings provide key evidence of the breadth and depth of antisemitism students face, and we will continue urging university administrators, campus leaders, and non-Jewish students to meet this moment and take antisemitism seriously.”
Most college students have reportedly never heard of institutional antisemitism in the U.S. – which entails restrictive neighborhood covenants, university quotas, or questioned Jewish loyalty when joining clubs or boards. And 15% of college students were found to have doubted the historical reality or death toll of the Holocaust, responding with “not very believable,” “not at all believable,” or “unsure.”
“This study provides concrete evidence that not enough is being done by school administrators and government officials to protect Jewish students from hate,” said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. “It’s clear that something is very wrong with our education system when more than fifty percent of Jewish students in America have observed an antisemitic incident. Of those, roughly half have witnessed or been on the receiving end of hate speech. It is absolutely unacceptable that next-to-nothing has been done to address this until now. I vow to support Jewish students as they take on these challenges, bigots, and threats of retribution that they face each day. Through our partnership with Jewish on Campus we will continue to elevate their voices as they fight back against the endless stream of verbal and physical attacks.”
