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Few elite universities have effectively fought antisemitism, according to a Jewish advocacy group’s new report.
Only two universities, Brandeis University and Elon University, received As from the Anti-Defamation League, who unveiled the grades on April 11.
One reason cited for Brandeis’s high score was its decision to ban the student group Students for Justice in Palestine, which has been behind most of the protesting and antisemitism.
Harvard received an F. So did 12 other prestigious universities, including Stanford, MIT, and Princeton. After publication of the report, some at Princeton pushed back, leading to a “D” grade, according to the campus newspaper.
MIT, which is being sued by Jewish students over Title VI claims, is the only school featured at Congressional hearings on antisemitism in December whose president did not resign.
The ADL cited a letter by pro-Hamas Harvard students blaming Israel for the rapes, deaths and destruction of the Oct. 7 attacks came within hours of reports of the Hamas invasion. The ADL also cited other antisemitic and anti-Zionist protest activities over the past six months.
Jewish students are feeling unsafe on many campuses, the ADL says.
“As I travel the country, I’m constantly hearing from Jewish families agonizing over where they will send their kids to college,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated in a news release accompanying the report. “School leadership must make serious changes to support Jewish communities on their campus; we expect nothing less.”
The ADL sent questionnaires to 100 schools, including top liberal arts colleges, and universities with a high percentage of Jewish students. They received responses from 84 percent of the schools queried.
They also considered other information, including Title VI complaints which have been filed with the Department of Education. They have become a popular vehicle for Jewish students who wish to sue over the high levels of antisemitism on campus.
The ADL also consulted with experts and used recommendations drafted by the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism to draw up a list of 21 criteria for assessment.
For each school, the ADL report provides information on the size of its Jewish student body, a detailed list of incidents in which Jewish students have been harassed or intimidated, and the school’s response and policies regarding antisemitism.
The other schools that received Fs were a Swarthmore, University of Chicago, University of Virginia, Michigan State University, Tufts Universty, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, SUNY Purchase, and SUNY Rockland.
At the University of Chicago, Jewish students were not able to hold rallies, because their voices were drowned out by pro-Hamas protesters, in contravention of the school’s free speech policy. At Princeton, there have been many antisemitic, anti-Zionist speakers, and rallies with antisemitic chanting in the past year, according to the ADL report card’s list of specifics. There is a Title VI case pending against Princeton.
Dartmouth, which received a C, was the only Ivy League school not to receive a D or an F.
Editor’s note: The article has been updated to note a change in grade for Princeton.
MORE: Details of extreme antisemitism at Stanford exposed in new investigative report
IMAGE: BC/CU Jewish Voice for Peace/Instagram
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