A recent survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report revealed that 67% of students at the top 25 universities in the country consider antisemitism to be a problem on their campuses. The remaining 33% did not see it as an issue. The survey showed that 14% of students believed antisemitism was a “huge problem,” while 53% considered it a “small problem.”
The universities included in the top 25 rankings by the outlet, such as Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles, saw heated campus protests related to the conflict in Gaza. These protests, which called for divestment in Israel, reportedly involved intimidation and harassment of Jewish students.
Despite the protests, a majority of students (51%) claimed that their sense of safety on campus was not affected. However, 38% felt less safe, with 28% feeling slightly less safe and 10% feeling much less safe. Only 9% felt more safe on campus.
The survey also indicated that students were divided on the impact of the protests on campus life, with 41% saying they had a negative effect, 31% neutral, and 28% positive. While tensions between Israelis and Palestinians ranked low on the list of priorities for students, issues such as inflation, healthcare, housing, and gun violence were deemed more important.
As the academic year comes to an end and protests begin to dissipate, the number of anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses has decreased. However, some students have continued to protest at graduation ceremonies.
