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ADL Data Reveals Alarming Campus Antisemitism, Despite Strong Jewish Life
Antisemitism on college campuses is a serious problem for Jewish students trying to experience the diverse landscape of academic life.
In 2023, antisemitism on college campuses reached record levels, with incidents surging by 321 percent compared to 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
This dramatic increase includes 922 antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses, demonstrating an urgent need to address antisemitic hate on campus to ensure that all students can learn and thrive. A 2024 CPOST study confirmed that there is a crisis of antisemitism on college campuses, reporting that 56% of Jewish college students felt in personal danger because of their stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. A December 2023 Brandeis report showed that higher levels of antisemitic hostility on campus resulted in Jewish students feeling less safe and less like they “very much belonged.” Such hostility has translated directly to self-censorship, with a 2024 Jim Joseph Foundation study noting that “more than a third of Jewish students report they are hiding their identity in order to fit in.”
To help students, their families, and other campus stakeholders assess what’s happening on campuses — and to urge campuses to take immediate and meaningful action to improve the campus climate for Jewish students — the ADL recently released the first iteration of its new Campus Antisemitism Report Card, a tool that assesses the state of antisemitism on campus and how universities and colleges are responding.
The feedback so far indicates that we are achieving those goals.
Feedback from students and families indicates that our tool is a useful source of necessary information during this volatile time. A number of universities and college leaders have already responded with requests for information and resources, eager to learn how to improve.
Despite its strengths, some have criticized the Report Card or the specific grades it assigned, suggesting that the evaluations may not align with personal experiences on certain campuses.
It’s important to note, however, that while individual experiences may vary, the Report Card is based on data and research, focusing on institutions’ responses to antisemitism and reported incident data.
The data is clear — many of these schools are failing to meet the moment when it comes to addressing rising antisemitism. This is data and information that students, families, alumni, and other campus stakeholders deserve to have. Moreover, it is data and information that should incentivize meaningful corrective action from the institutions themselves.
Although the Jewish student experience is deeply related to what we were aiming to assess — namely the level of antisemitism on campus and how universities are responding — those things are not one and the same. Students on campuses that receive lower grades may still experience positive Jewish life due to strong support systems like Hillels, Chabads, robust Jewish studies programs, and Jewish Greek life organizations.
Conversely, campuses with high grades may still have students experiencing antisemitic incidents.
It is important to note that a high grade does not imply that a campus is free from antisemitism, just as a low grade does not suggest the absence of robust Jewish student life and support. In fact, many campuses received full credit for every aspect of Jewish life we assessed, but the high level of antisemitic incidents on campus, or the university’s lackluster response, drove the grade down.
Many factors affect an individual student’s experience on campus, which is why students and families should view the Report Card as one tool in a suite of available resources that they use to assess campuses.
Our Report Card aims to create a race to the top among campuses, motivating them to strive for excellence in addressing and combating antisemitism. The race is on, and removing the hurdles will only benefit students by creating safer and more inclusive campus environments for all students, including Jewish students.
We hope these schools will implement new programs and policies that we and others recommend, and that their grades will improve accordingly.
Shira Goodman is Senior Director of Advocacy at ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).
The post ADL Data Reveals Alarming Campus Antisemitism, Despite Strong Jewish Life first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany’s Halt to Arms Exports to Israel Is Response to Gaza Expansion Plans, Chancellor Says
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends a cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
Germany’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel comes in response to Israel’s plan to expand its operations in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday in an interview with public broadcaster ARD.
“We cannot deliver weapons into a conflict that is now being pursued exclusively by military means,” Merz said. “We want to help diplomatically, and we are doing so.”
The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to take this historically fraught step.
The chancellor said in the interview that the expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza could claim hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and would require the evacuation of the entire city of Gaza.
“Where are these people supposed to go?” Merz said. “We can’t do that, we won’t do that, and I will not do that.”
Nevertheless, the principles of Germany’s Israel policy remain unchanged, the chancellor said.
“Germany has stood firmly by Israel’s side for 80 years. That will not change,” Merz said.
Germany is Israel’s second-biggest weapons supplier after the US and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of its historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust – a policy known as the “Staatsraison.”
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Newsom Calls Trump’s $1 Billion UCLA Settlement Offer Extortion, Says California Won’t Bow
California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by members of the Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, California, U.S., August 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Saturday that a $1 billion settlement offer by President Donald Trump’s administration for UCLA amounted to political extortion to which the state will not bow.
The University of California says it is reviewing a $1 billion settlement offer by the Trump administration for UCLA after the government froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding over pro-Palestinian protests.
UCLA, which is part of the University of California system, said this week the government froze $584 million in funding. Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over anti-Israel student protests.
“Donald Trump has weaponized the DOJ (Department of Justice) to kneecap America’s #1 public university system — freezing medical & science funding until @UCLA pays his $1 billion ransom,” the office of Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post.
“California won’t bow to Trump’s disgusting political extortion,” it added.
“This isn’t about protecting Jewish students – it’s a billion-dollar political shakedown from the pay-to-play president.”
The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests and in doing so violated Jewish and Israeli students’ civil rights. The White House had no immediate comment beyond the offer.
Experts have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the Republican president’s threats. The University of California says paying such a large settlement would “completely devastate” the institution.
Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Last week, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued this year over a 2024 violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters.
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Trump Nominates State Dept Spokeswoman Bruce as US Deputy Representative to UN
FILE PHOTO: U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during her first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next US deputy representative to the United Nations.
Bruce has been the State Department spokesperson since Trump took office in January.
In a post on social media in which Trump announced her nomination, the president said she did a “fantastic job” as State Department spokesperson. Bruce will need to be confirmed for the role by the US Senate, where Trump’s Republican Party holds a majority.
During press briefings, she has defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy decisions ranging from an immigration crackdown and visa revocations to US responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza, including a widely condemned armed private aid operation in the Palestinian territory.
Bruce was previously a political contributor and commentator on Fox News for over 20 years.
She has also authored books like “Fear Itself: Exposing the Left’s Mind-Killing Agenda” that criticized liberals and left-leaning viewpoints.
In a post after Trump’s announcement, Bruce thanked him and suggested that the role was a “few weeks” away. Neither Trump nor Bruce mentioned an exact timeline in their online posts.
“Now I’m blessed that in the next few weeks my commitment to advancing America First leadership and values continues on the global stage in this new post,” Bruce wrote on X.
Trump has picked former White House national security adviser Mike Waltz to be his U.N. envoy. Waltz’s Senate confirmation for that role, wherein he will be Bruce’s boss, is still due.
Waltz was Trump’s national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides on military strikes in Yemen. Trump then nominated Waltz as his U.N. ambassador.