Jewish on Campus data shows ongoing spike in anti-Semitism related to Israel’s May 2021 conflict with Hamas.
The first national study of campus anti-Semitism conducted by students themselves demonstrates that while hatred against Jews expressed online remains a significant problem, almost three-quarters of incidents took place in person, with the remainder happening online.
Jewish On Campus (JOC), a grassroots organization founded to amplify the voices of Jewish students and combat anti-Semitism on campus, undertook the research to offer a unique source of information and perspective by restricting involvement in the work to students, who are both the source of the data and the authors of the report analyzing it.
JOC is an official partner of the World Jewish Congress (WJC).
The report, published online Monday, also found a spike in student reports of anti-Semitic incidents both in January 2021, possibly related to the attack on the US Capitol, and in May 2021, against the background of Israel’s conflict with Hamas.
However, while report submissions dipped after the January 2021 increase, the rate remained elevated after the Hamas conflict ended. Conservative and Orthodox Jews were over-represented in the data as victims of anti-Semitism, most likely because they are more “identifiably” Jewish, wearing kipot (skullcaps) or other traditional attire, the report’s authors concluded.
The study is drawn from 544 reports submitted online to JOC from 11 countries, 41 US states, and 228 universities worldwide. A team of student statisticians analyzed the data to yield insights about demographics, location and ideology.
“Anti-Semitism on campus is a crisis that must be immediately addressed,” said Jewish on Campus CEO Julia Jassey. “To do so, we need a clear understanding of the issue. This report takes a year of data submitted to Jewish on Campus by hundreds of students around the world and compiles it to give a robust understanding of what anti-Semitism truly looks like on campus.”
Some of the study’s key findings included:
- Of the 544 reports, 241 were characterized by historical anti-Semitism, while the next largest group — 191 — evinced demonization of Israel. In 73 of the incidents, the reporting students described a denial of self-determination, while 22 incidents involved a condoning of terrorism.
- Of the 316 reports that included information on gender identity, 67.7% were by female respondents. Being female far increased one’s likelihood of experiencing anti-Semitism online.
- The anti-Semitism women face, in which misogynistic undertones intertwine with anti-Semitic rhetoric, is different from that faced by men.
- Almost 90% of the submissions came from the United States. Massachusetts, Vermont and New York posted the highest number of reports.
- The University of Vermont accounted for the most submissions from a single school, at 58, while students at Tufts reported 34 incidents and George Washington University reported 25.
- A little more than half of the incidents were perpetrated by only one person. Students perpetrated 316 of the incidents; professors, 122.
“This report has the potential to motivate widespread, data-informed change on college campuses,” JOC data scientist Jacob Blum said. “With the help of these statistics, it will only be easier for JOC to continue to make college campuses everywhere a safe space for Jewish students.”
Source: Arutz 7
