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.