Pro-Hamas supporters are increasingly committing acts of violence against Jewish students on U.S. college campuses, according to several reports and multiple federal investigations.
The violence comes as the Jewish Passover observance begins Monday night.
Most recently, pro-Hamas supporters threw bottles at Jews on college campuses, a Jewish student at Yale and editor-in-chief of its student newspaper, was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag, and violence targeting Jewish students at Columbia University was so great that New York Police Department officers were called in and classes Monday are to be taken virtually.
An Orthodox rabbi at Columbia encouraged Jewish students to stay home saying, “it is clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy. … It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus. No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school.”
After the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel, antisemitism and violence escalated against Jews in America by nearly 400%, The Center Square reported. Since then, violence has increased on college campuses with leaders failing to stop it, another report found.
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, there are roughly 100 colleges and universities currently being investigated for alleged “discrimination involving shared ancestry” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law protects students “of any religion from discrimination, including harassment, based on a student’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, or citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity.”
The Center Square reviewed the DOE OCR reports made public. They include an investigation into the University of California-Davis for alleged threats made against Jewish and Israeli students. The report cites an assistant professor, Jemma Decristo, who reportedly claimed, “Zionist journalists” were spreading propaganda and misinformation about the Oct. 7 attacks. She also posted on social media that Jews should “fear us more” along with a knife, hatchet and drops of blood emojis.
In another investigation, a Stanford professor “asked Jewish and Israeli students to identify themselves” and reportedly told them “to take their belongings, stand in a corner” and said, “this is what Israel does to the Palestinians.” The students “were afraid to speak up in class out of fear that they would be penalized grade-wise” and “feel isolated, under attack and threatened,” according to the report.
A Stanford professor asked students where their ancestors were from and labeled them as “colonizer” or “colonized;” students said they felt “dehumanized.”
At Harvard University, two graduate students allegedly assaulted a Harvard Law School student, which was recorded on video; at MIT, an anti-Israel group physically prevented Jews from attending class by forming a blockade and declaring solidarity with Hamas, according to separate investigations.
At the University of Cincinnati, human feces were smeared on the door of a Jewish university-affiliated fraternity; an “ally against anti-Semitism” yard sign was burned down; a student government resolution was passed using anti-Semitic language; Jewish students said, “we are no longer safe, welcome, or are in an environment where we can learn and get an education without fear of persecution, hate, and violence,” according to another report.
At the University of Pennsylvania, a large event was held on campus in support of Hamas at which students and faculty reportedly chanted, “There is only one solution: Intifada Resolution,” referring to Hitler’s final solution to eradicate Jews. Other chants called for the destruction of Israel and “we want Jewish genocide,” according to the investigation.
From Jan. 1, 2024, through April 16, the DOE OCR is investigating alleged Title VI violations committed at:
University of Massachusetts – Amherst,University of Michigan,Youngstown State University (Ohio),Princeton University,University of California – Santa Barbara,University of Hawaii – Manoa,Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif.,Eastern Washington University,Illinois Wesleyan University,Middlebury College,University of California – Berkeley,Swarthmore College,SUNY Rockland Community College,University of Massachusetts – Amherst,Johns Hopkins University,Pacific Lutheran University,Harvard University,University of Michigan,The New School (New York City),Indiana University – Bloomington,University of South Florida,University of Wisconsin – Madison,SUNY Binghamton University,Arizona State University,Northwestern University,Ann Arbor Public Schools,Yale University,Abraham Lincoln University,University of Minnesota – Twin Cities,Muhlenberg College,The Ohio State University,Temple University,Brown University,San Diego State University.
The colleges and universities all receive taxpayer-funded federal grants.
