(The Center Square) – A new report shows that most Ivy League schools have improved relations with Jewish students, while Columbia, Princeton and Yale have had no improvement.
The Anti-Defamation League released its updated Campus Antisemitism Report Card nearly a year after pro-Palestinian protests erupted on university campuses across the country, sparking antisemitic backlash.
In May 2024, The Center Square reported on the ADL’s report card, noting that Columbia, Princeton and Yale received “D” grades, unchanged from nearly a year ago.
During the spring of 2024, Columbia garnered the most attention following a violent uprising leading to arrests after agitators stormed and occupied a campus building. Following the eventual crackdown from law enforcement and the university, the New York Police Department reported finding pro-Jihadi materials within the encampment.
Despite the university coming under fire from political leaders on both sides of the political aisle, critical of the university’s response, Columbia did not budge in improving.
In its report released Monday, the ADL noted that in January, anti-Israeli protesters disrupted a History of Modern Israel class at Columbia. In the same month, protesters “cemented” a sewage system at the International Affairs Building while spraying paint on the Henry R. Kravis Hall, part of the business school.
In February, protesters occupied a building at Barnard College, a neighboring campus. The ADL added that while the protests occurred on a different campus, Columbia students were reportedly involved. The situation “continues to evolve,” according to the ADL.
While Columbia has remained stagnant, the Anti-Defamation League noted that for the 2024-25 academic year, the university established a new Office of Institutional Equity “to centralize the reporting and investigation of incidents.” In addition, Title VI training is now mandatory for all faculty, employees, contractors and new hires.
The university has also implemented new training for students, including “scenarios to build awareness of the ways that antisemitism can manifest.” And, in September, the university introduced new policies “prohibiting the use of terms like ‘Zionist’ when employed to target Jews or Israelis.”
Despite Columbia, Princeton and Yale’s dismal report, Harvard had significant improvement, jumping from an “F” to a “C.” Brown, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania improved by one grade, from “D” to “C.” Dartmouth also bumped up one grade from “C” to “B,” the highest of any Ivy League school.
In late 2023, Ivy League presidents from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania were forced to step down after a fallout stemming from congressional testimony in which they failed to say calls for a Jewish genocide violated school conduct policies.
The Anti-Defamation League reported that in July 2024, the Department of Education “ended an investigation into allegations of antisemitic harassment at Harvard, as a lawsuit filed in federal court contained the same allegations.” In January, the university settled two antisemitic lawsuits “by agreeing to provide additional protections for Jewish students,” which included the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
In addition, the university created a task force to combat antisemitism and committed to adding antisemitism to diversity, equity and inclusion training.
The Anti-Defamation League’s report comes on the heels of an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice that a federal task force to combat antisemitism will be visiting 10 university campuses that have experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023.
The task force was created following an executive order from President Donald Trump to combat antisemitism, with its “first priority to eradicate antisemitic harassment in school and on college campuses.” Columbia and Harvard are among the schools identified by the DOJ.
