How do we address antisemitism on campus? The answer isn't surprising: Teach. | Opinion
What if we built institutional cultures where both intentions and impact matter – where we take seriously the impact of prejudice while assuming that those who perpetuated it can learn and grow?
Federal immigration officers recently detained former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in connection to his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests last spring. This incident, along with the Department of Education’s new investigation of 60 colleges and universities over antisemitism claims, has brought rising campus antisemitism to the forefront of our national conversation.
Recent survey data is unambiguous: A survey this year by the Anti-Defamation League, Hillel International and College Pulse revealed the disturbing statistic that 83% of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023. I was part of the team that designed and launched the first iteration of this survey in 2021, at which point 43% of Jewish college students had experienced or witnessed antisemitic activity in the past year. That 43% figure was staggering at the time. It has nearly doubled since then.
Anyone concerned about the vitality of our religiously diverse democracy and higher education’s central role in its preservation should be concerned and moved to action by these statistics. But we should not be too quick to assume what types of actions are effective at addressing something as pernicious as antisemitism.
Perhaps the lasting solution to these challenges is not to penalize higher education or students, but to lean in to exactly what higher education does best: educating and expanding hearts and minds.
First, educate. Turn to punitive measures as a last approach.
Corrective action may well be necessary when policies are violated, or when antisemitism or other forms of prejudice manifest in ways that threaten people’s safety. But, as leaders of institutions of higher learning, administrators also have both a responsibility and an opportunity to educate.
What might the campus environment look like if we doubled down on a commitment to education, teaching campus communities about antisemitism and other forms of prejudice and equipping students with the skills to engage across deep differences – including and especially when they are deeply offended by others’ views?
What if we built institutional cultures where both intentions and impact matter – where we take seriously the impact of prejudice while assuming that those who perpetuated it can learn and grow if given the chance?
Policies and punitive measures are needed, of course, to ensure safety within a campus environment, but we can turn to those measures as a last, rather than a first, approach.
I admire the many leaders who have already taken this approach, and I believe we should look to these models. For example, when the Ohio State University’s Hillel student center was vandalized in 2023, Hillel leaders chose a restorative response rather than a punitive one.
As part of an agreement, the two students who engaged in the vandalism attended four listening and learning sessions with Jewish students and rabbis.
“The goal was to try and bridge divides and move towards mutual understanding, as well as an acknowledgement of responsibility from the two women. ... The opportunity to learn about our community was transformative,” said Rabbi Aaron Portman, senior Jewish educator at OSU Hillel.
Try to minimize antisemitism without amplifying another prejudice
Leaders like Rabbi Portman model that it is possible to address rising antisemitism effectively and unabashedly in a way that truly shifts attitudes and brings people in, rather than pushing them out.
The context in which this work is unfolding magnifies the difficulties, including new pressures from political leadership and beyond. Some leaders who are appropriately concerned about antisemitism would benefit from broadening their view to include Muslim students, who are also impacted by rising prejudice.
A 2024 University of Chicago study showed that 56% of Jewish students and 52% of Muslim students feel in personal danger due to their support of Israel or Palestinians.
We need to address antisemitism on campus wherever it manifests. And I am confident we can do so in ways that do not – either intentionally or inadvertently – amplify one form of prejudice while attempting to minimize another.
For example, painting all pro-Palestine protesters as supporters of terrorism amplifies common Islamophobic and anti-Arab tropes of Arabs and Muslims as uniquely violent, foreign and monolithic.
I personally did not agree with much of the rhetoric and some of the tactics at last year’s campus protests, particularly when some protesters denigrated Zionists, intentionally excluded them from campus spaces, or used threatening language that disrupted other students’ ability to learn.
Nonetheless, I support the fundamental American value of the right to protest. And I know and respect people who participated in protests ‒ not to support terrorism, but out of their personal commitment to justice.
We can only realize the potential of our religiously diverse democracy by upholding our core principles of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion. The very purpose of these principles is to ensure that we safeguard the rights of even those people with whom we disagree, including the right to due process.
By doing so, we also ensure these same rights for ourselves.
Higher education – by its very nature – can lead our nation in this work. Higher education’s deep commitments to robust intellectual inquiry and research, exchange across diverse identities and viewpoints, and thoughtful education provide the best pathway to addressing prejudice and cultivating healthier campus communities for all.
Colleges and universities can support students in taking pride in their unique identities while widening their perspectives on the world, exposing them to new ideas and intellectual frameworks, and helping them understand the way their words and actions impact others.
Leaders are facing grave institutional risk scenarios in this moment. Nevertheless, higher education’s existing values and commitments are powerful tools. Institutional leaders can turn inward to their strengths to find solutions rather than operating only from a mindset of caution.
The founder and president of the organization I work for, Eboo Patel, often quotes the words of poet Edwin Markham, who wrote, “He drew a circle that shut me out – Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!”
We can only move the needle in addressing antisemitism, along with the other prejudices that plague our campuses, when we focus not on who we can push out or what we can tear down, but rather on what we can build together.
Rebecca Russo is vice president of Higher Education Strategy at Interfaith America.