By VITA FELLIG
JNS
As many as 74% of Jewish college students believe that anti-Semitism is a serious problem on campus, according to a recent poll conducted by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC).
A total of 30% reported experiencing anti-Semitism, 29% reported witnessing an anti-Semitic event and 22% reported hearing about anti-Semitic events. Some 87% of Jewish college students are concerned that anti-Israel protests and petitions to boycott the State of Israel lead to hate crimes and violence against Jewish students.
Can’t Be Ignored
The poll, which was commissioned by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) and conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research, surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults, 400 college students and 250 Jewish college students between Feb. 14-18.
Jacob Baime, CEO of ICC, told JNS that the results highlight the need to address rising anti-Semitism in university settings.
“This data is a wake-up call demanding urgent action from university leaders,” he said. “We hope these findings spur decisive steps to tackle the alarming surge of anti-Semitism on college campuses, where 75% of students have experienced, witnessed or heard about anti-Semitic incidents on their campus, and 76% view it as a grave issue.”
Consequences?
Baime told JNS that while supporting free speech is important, pervasive Jew-hatred can not come without consequences.
“Universities must uphold their own rules and codes of conduct,” he said. “Jewish and pro-Israel students deserve the same rights and protections as their peers, including freedom from exclusion or marginalization for embracing Zionism as a core component of their Jewish identity.”
This is no longer a peripheral concern,” he added. “It’s a crisis threatening the safety and dignity of Jewish students.”
Carly Cooperman, CEO of Schoen Cooperman Research, told JNS that anti-Semitism is a growing and pervasive concern nationally and on college campuses specifically.
“Broadly speaking, we found that 80% view anti-Semitism as a serious problem, and 84% say that it is important for public figures and organizations to denounce anti-Semitism,” she said, particularly in light of incidents like the Kanye West Super Bowl controversy. “At colleges, three-quarters of students view anti-Semitism as a serious problem and have experienced, witnessed or heard of anti-Semitic incidents on their campus.”
Support For Israel
“These concerns are validated when we see the findings from Jewish college students as widespread majorities report facing anti-Semitic hate and violence on campus,” added Cooperman.
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is another prominent issue for U.S. college students, Jewish and otherwise, according to the poll.
A whopping 91% of college students say the war is important to them. For Jewish students, the war is the top issue (40%), ahead of all other concerns. For others, it ranks as the second-most important issue for college students (27%) behind costs and inflation (43%).
The poll also revealed considerable support for Israel among the American public with 81% of adults supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and 82% believing that a final ceasefire deal should require Hamas’s removal from power in Gaza.
