University campuses have been a central point of national discussion regarding antisemitism since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in late 2023 and the subsequent surge of protests and encampments. However, a recent report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) indicates that while public attention has largely concentrated on student activities, there has been considerably less examination of what transpires within academic settings and behind classroom doors.
Beyond Student Protests: Classroom Concerns
The ADL's findings detail allegations of professors and teaching assistants integrating anti-Israel advocacy into their coursework. This reportedly includes offering additional credit for student participation in anti-Israel events and, in some cases, singling out Jewish and Israeli students during class discussions or activities.
The organization noted that while student-led protests and demonstrations typically capture public interest, the actions of faculty and decisions regarding curriculum often occur within the "relative opacity of academic spaces," making them significantly harder for external observers to monitor.
A January 2025 campus antisemitism report, a collaborative effort by the ADL, Hillel International, and College Pulse, previously found that 27.3% of Jewish students reported experiencing antisemitic behavior from faculty members. That earlier report also highlighted a correlation between exposure to faculty engaging in antisemitic rhetoric and students' perceptions of a more hostile campus environment.
Academic Bias and Incentives
The current ADL report outlines several ways these dynamics have manifested in educational settings, including through course content, assigned readings, political activism, and the treatment of Jewish and Israeli students. Instances were reported where faculty members allegedly canceled classes to enable students to attend anti-Israel protests.
For example, at the University of California, Berkeley, students enrolled in a particular course were reportedly offered "extra credit" for attending a university-sponsored event series titled "Thinking from Palestine: Dispossession, Liberation, and Return."
This was not the sole incident reported at UC Berkeley. In October 2023, mere weeks after the Hamas attacks in Israel, a teaching assistant at the institution allegedly provided students with extra credit for participating in an anti-Israel walkout. In an email, the teaching assistant described the walkout as being "against the settler-colonial occupation of Gaza." This email circulated widely online, drawing considerable public scrutiny. The ADL noted that the university subsequently addressed the matter, citing its existing policy against political indoctrination on campus.
Other universities within the UC system also faced similar accusations. In October 2023, a teaching assistant at UCLA reportedly informed students they could earn extra credit for attending an "Emergency Teach-in on the Crisis in Palestine."
Targeting Jewish and Israeli Students
Beyond issues of course content and incentives for political involvement, the report also documented allegations of situations where Jewish and Israeli students were specifically targeted by faculty.
The ADL cited findings from Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism, which published its own report on the classroom experience at the institution. The task force documented an incident where an Israeli student was asked:
"You must know a lot about settler colonialism. How do you feel about that?"In another documented case, an unnamed instructor reportedly pointed at a student who had served in a combat role with the Israel Defense Forces, stating that
"she should be considered as one of the murderers."
Columbia's task force also recorded an account from a Jewish student, who was not Israeli, who reported being told:
"It’s such a shame that your people survived in order to commit mass genocide."
A spokesperson for Columbia University commented on their ongoing efforts, stating, "We will continue to work alongside Columbia’s vibrant Jewish organizations, like Hillel and Chabad, to support their community building and improve the campus experience for our Jewish students, faculty, and staff."
The Impact of Faculty Authority
The ADL contended that incidents of antisemitism perpetrated by faculty carry significant weight due to the inherent power professors hold over their students. The organization cautioned that "such activity from trusted professors contributes disproportionately to an unsafe and hostile environment for Jewish and non-Jewish students alike."
In its comprehensive report, the ADL urged universities to "implement comprehensive measures" designed to combat antisemitism and foster a secure and inclusive environment for all members of their student body.
