AlON ON 1n OuAu.

uoJetstooJloq Iewlsb 5toJeot lsolotloo

oo compos presenLs selecLed flndlngs from a larger sLudy of
college sLudenL experlences wlLh rellglous lnLolerance on
campus. ConducLed by Lhe lnsLlLuLe for !ewlsh & CommunlLy
8esearch, Lhe SLudy of 8ellglous 1olerance on Campus
surveyed over 1,400 sLudenLs naLlonally, lncludlng oversam-
ples of mlnorlLy rellglous groups. lL ls one of Lhe largesL and
mosL comprehenslve surveys of lLs klnd.
1he followlng ls Lhe flrsL ln a serles of summarles, whlch pro-
vlde conclse analysls of selecLed sLudenL survey daLa. 1he com-
pleLe sLudy wlll be made avallable ln publlcaLlons ln 2012. 1o
recelve fuLure summarles and publlcaLlons, please cllck here.
1he lnsLlLuLe for !ewlsh & CommunlLy 8esearch (l!C8) ls an
lndependenL, non-parLlsan Lhlnk Lank LhaL provldes lnnova-
Llve research and pragmaLlc pollcy analysls on a broad range
of lssues lncludlng raclal and rellglous ldenLlLy, phllanLhropy,
and anLl-SemlLlsm.
Ior more |nformat|on contact:
Aryeh Welnberg, keseotcb ultectot
lnsLlLuLe for !ewlsh & CommunlLy 8esearch
413.386.2604
www.!ewlsh8esearch.org
I NSTI TUTE FOR JEWI SH & COMMUNI TY RESEARCH
ALONE ON THE QUAD
UNDERSTANDI NG JEWI SH STUDENT I SOLATI ON ON CAMPUS
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ARYEH WEI NBERG
I NSTI TUTE FOR JEWI SH & COMMUNI TY RESEARCH
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2
I NTRODUCTI ON
Ample anecdoLal evldence suggesLs LhaL, over Lhe
lasL decade, !ewlsh college sLudenLs have faced
rlslng levels of anLl-SemlLlsm on campuses across
Lhe unlLed SLaLes. ulvesLmenL campalgns,
proLesLs, rallles, guerrllla LheaLer and lnflammaLo-
ry speakers have feaLured anLl-!ewlsh rheLorlc.
WlLh lnsufflclenL response from admlnlsLraLors,
Lhese evenLs have devolved lnLo hosLlle envlron-
menLs where !ewlsh sLudenLs and oLhers have
been mallgned and LhreaLened.
Cver Lhe lasL decade, Lhe !ewlsh communlLy has
made slgnlflcanL lnvesLmenL ln addresslng rlslng
anLl-SemlLlsm on unlverslLy and college campus-
es. lmporLanL quesLlons remaln abouL Lhe exls-
Lence of a problem, Lhe exLenL of Lhe problem
and how besL Lo address lL. l!C8 flelded Lhe sur-
vey of college sLudenLs Lo answer some of Lhese
quesLlons and Lo help effecLlvely dlrecL communl-
Ly efforLs and fundlng sLraLegles.
1he sLudenL survey flndlngs conflrm LhaL a serl-
ous problem does lndeed exlsL on campuses for
!ewlsh sLudenLs, and all sLudenLs by exLenslon. lL
also crlLlcally lnforms Lhe !ewlsh communlLy on
how sLudenLs percelve anLl-SemlLlsm. Whlle Lhe
daLa proves Lhe exlsLence of Lhe problem, lL also
reveals LhaL Lhe vasL ma[orlLy of sLudenLs remaln
un-oplnlonaLed, un-lndocLrlnaLed and Lherefore
poLenLlally open Lo falr and accuraLe lnformaLlon
on lsrael, Lhe !ewlsh people and !udalsm.
MAJOR FI NDI NGS
ALONE ON THE QUAD
1. Cver 40 of Iew|sh Students Conf|rm
Ant|-Sem|t|sm on 1he|r Campuses
2. Iew|sh Students Iace Ant|-Sem|t|sm A|one
3. Iew|sh Students keport Ant|-Israe||sm
Creep|ng |nto the C|assroom
4. Ant|-Sem|t|sm |s 8e|ng Norma||zed and
Underreported
S. A S|gn|f|cant M|nor|ty of Iew|sh Students
Say Ant|-Israe| rotest 1argets Iews
6. 1he Ma[or|ty of Non-Iew|sh Students Do Not
no|d Cp|n|ons on Israe|
ALONE ON THE QUAD
UNDERSTANDI NG JEWI SH STUDENT I SOLATI ON ON CAMPUS
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1. MORE THAN 2 I N 5 JEWI SH STUDENTS
CONFI RM ANTI - SEMI TI SM ON THEI R
CAMPUSES
Cver 40 of !ewlsh sLudenLs surveyed answered
LhaL Lhey are aware of or have personally experl-
enced anLl-SemlLlsm on Lhelr campus.
A !ewlsh sLudenL has a good chance LhaL he or
she wlll encounLer anLl-SemlLlsm whlle ln college
Loday. Lvery campus ls dlfferenL, buL a naLlonal
average of 43 warranLs aLLenLlon and demon-
sLraLes Lhe exlsLence of a problem.
A sllghLly hlgher percenLage of Musllm sLudenLs
(49) percelve anLl-Musllm blas on campus, whlle
only 18 of ChrlsLlans are aware of anLl-ChrlsLlan
blas. 1hese numbers speak poorly of admlnlsLra-
Llve efforLs Lo encourage accepLance of rellglous
mlnorlLles. lurLhermore, Lhey underscore Lhe facL
LhaL !ews, desplLe slgnlflcanL galns Loward
Amerlcan soclal accepLance, remaln LargeLs of
pre[udlce on campus.
2. JEWI SH STUDENTS FACE
ANTI - SEMI TI SM ALONE
Whlle 43 of !ewlsh sLudenLs percelve anLl-
SemlLlsm on Lhelr campuses, only 11 of non-
!ewlsh sLudenLs recognlze Lhe exlsLence of anLl-
!ewlsh blgoLry on campus. Among rellglous
groups, ALhelsL/AgnosLlcs are a dlsLanL second Lo
!ews (20), and are a small group LhaL llkely
lncludes some number of !ews who do noL
ldenLlfy rellglously.
1he slgnlflcanL dlsparlLy beLween !ewlsh and non-
!ewlsh sLudenLs hlghllghLs Lhe lsolaLlon !ewlsh
sLudenLs face ln addresslng anLl-SemlLlsm on
campus. WheLher non-!ewlsh sLudenLs don'L
know anLl-SemlLlsm when Lhey see lL, don'L pay
aLLenLlon enough Lo recognlze lL, dlsagree wlLh
!ewlsh sLudenLs on Lhe deflnlLlon of anLl-SemlLlsm
or condone lL, Lhe resulL ls Lhe same: Lhe !ewlsh
sLudenL communlLy ls ofLen alone ln aLLempLlng
Lo ralse awareness, spur admlnlsLraLlve acLlon, or
rally campus supporL. 1he percenLage of !ewlsh
sLudenLs answerlng LhaL anLl-SemlLlsm exlsLs on
Lhelr campus ls a Lroubllng Lrend, compounded
by Lhe lack of obvlous allles on campus for [ewlsh
sLudenLs Lo Lurn Lo.
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3. JEWI SH STUDENTS REPORT
ANTI - I SRAELI SM I N THE CLASSROOM
lorLy-one percenL of !ewlsh sLudenLs have heard
anLl-lsrael remarks made ln class by a professor,
conflrmlng LhaL Lhe academlc experlence of sLu-
denLs ls belng lmpacLed by anLl-lsrael acLlvlsm on
campus. CLher Lhan Mormons, few non-!ewlsh
sLudenLs percelve anLl-lsrael remarks ln class.
laculLy play a slgnlflcanL role ln formlng sLudenL
oplnlons, especlally where Lhey cross over from
lnsLrucLlon Lo lndocLrlnaLlon. Many sLudenLs do
noL hold sLrong oplnlons on Lhe Mlddle LasL con-
fllcL and are parLlcularly suscepLlble Lo accepLlng
faculLy polnLs of vlew as LruLh, especlally when
offered ln class. lL may, Lherefore, be unsurprlslng
LhaL non-!ewlsh sLudenLs, wlLh llLLle prevlous
knowledge of lsrael or Lhe Mlddle LasL, do noL
recognlze anLl-lsrael commenLs made ln class.
4. ANTI - SEMI TI SM I S BEI NG
NORMALI ZED AND UNDERREPORTED
SlgnlflcanLly more !ewlsh and non-!ewlsh sLu-
denLs reporLed speclflc anLl-SemlLlc sLaLemenLs
heard on campus Lhan reporLed anLl-SemlLlsm ln
general. 1hls flndlng calls lnLo quesLlon whaL sLu-
denLs conslder anLl-SemlLlsm. erhaps many do
noL conslder rheLorlc or sLereoLypes meanlngful
offenslve behavlor. ?eL, one musL conslder LhaL
college campuses are parLlcularly senslLlve Lo
lssues of Lolerance and wheLher slmllar rheLorlc
abouL oLher mlnorlLy groups would be LoleraLed.
1he flndlng conLradlcLs clalms LhaL !ews are over-
ly senslLlve and qulck Lo clalm anLl-SemlLlsm. 1he
opposlLe seems Lo be Lrue. !ewlsh sLudenLs Lend
Lo dlsmlss a good deal of Lhe anLl-SemlLlc rheLorlc
Lhey encounLer. 1he same ls Lrue for non-!ewlsh
sLudenLs. 1hls Lrend hlnLs aL a creeplng normal-
lzaLlon of anLl-!ewlsh senLlmenL on campus,
whlch can qulckly devolve lnLo an envlronmenL
where !ews feel unsafe and unwanLed. 1he
dlsmlssal of anLl-!ewlsh sLaLemenLs ls parLlcularly
Lroubllng conslderlng Lhe hlgh level of vlgllance
agalnsL mosL forms of raclsm and blgoLry on cam-
pus.
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5. ANTI - I SRAELI SM TARGETS JEWS
nearly one-Lhlrd of !ewlsh sLudenLs agree LhaL
anLl-lsrael proLesL LargeLs !ews. llfLeen percenL
belleve lL always or usually does and 16 belleve
lL someLlmes does.
1he llne beLween anLl-SemlLlsm and anLl-
lsraellsm ls unclear and cerLalnly noL all crlLlclsm
of lsrael conLalns anLl-SemlLlsm. Powever, anLl-
lsrael proLesL lowers Lhe norms agalnsL anLl-
!ewlsh blgoLry. lL provldes a convenlenL venue for
anLl-SemlLlc expresslon and embraces anLl-
SemlLlc sLereoLypes under Lhe gulse of pollLlcal
acLlvlsm. 1he blurrlng beLween anLl-lsraellsm and
anLl-SemlLlsm ls recognlzed by nearly one-Lhlrd of
!ewlsh sLudenLs. Less Lhan one-ln-Len non-!ewlsh
sLudenLs recognlze anLl-!ewlsh aLLacks wlLhln
anLl-lsrael proLesL, underscorlng Lhe dllemma
!ews face on campus addresslng problems few
oLher sLudenLs recognlze.
6. THE MAJORI TY OF STUDENTS ARE
UNI NFORMED ABOUT I SRAEL
uesplLe slgnlflcanL efforLs by anLl- and pro-lsrael
groups, mosL sLudenLs do noL hold sLrong opln-
lons, or any aL all, relaLed Lo lsrael and Lhe
Mlddle LasL.
1he ma[orlLy of non-!ewlsh sLudenLs slmply do
noL know whaL Lo Lhlnk abouL Lhe mosL wlde-
spread anLl-lsrael sLaLemenLs. 1he vasL ma[orlLy
do noL blame elLher Lhe alesLlnlans or lsrael for
fallure Lo achleve peace ln Lhe Mlddle LasL.
WheLher Lhls represenLs a gap ln oplnlon or ln
knowledge ls unclear. lL ls an lmporLanL flndlng,
slgnallng Lhe opporLunlLy Lo educaLe abouL lsrael
and Lhe need Lo develop more engaglng
approaches.
CONCLUSI ON
!ewlsh sLudenLs have access Lo a wlde range of
opporLunlLles ln college and conLlnue Lo be rep-
resenLed on campus well above naLlonal popula-
Llon numbers. Powever, Lhe quallLy of Lhelr expe-
rlence ls ln quesLlon.
nearly half of young !ewlsh adulLs enLerlng col-
lege can expecL Lo be confronLed by anLl-
SemlLlsm on Lhelr campus. ConLrary Lo Lhe expe-
rlence of many oLher mlnorlLles, !ewlsh sLudenLs
face lsolaLlon ln aLLempLlng Lo ralse awareness
and combaL anLl-!ewlsh blgoLry. Moreover, anLl-
lsrael proLesL, for many !ews, lnclude aLLacks on
Lhe !ewlsh people and falLh. ueeply concernlng ls
evldence LhaL anLl-lsrael rheLorlc has made lLs
way lnLo Lhe classroom, lncreaslng Lhe allenaLlon
of !ewlsh sLudenLs on campus.
1he vasL ma[orlLy of non-!ewlsh sLudenLs remaln
neuLral or unaware of lssues relaLed Lo lsrael and
Lhe Mlddle LasL. 1hese sLudenLs presenL an
opporLunlLy, and engaglng Lhe undeclded ma[orl-
Ly offers slgnlflcanL poLenLlal for boLh lmmedlaLe
and long Lerm progress.
FORTHCOMI NG
upcomlng ma[or flndlngs summarles wlll cover
Loplcs lncludlng sLudenL oplnlons of !ewlsh cam-
pus organlzaLlons, oplnlons of enLrepreneurshlp,
vlews of Lhe Mlddle LasL confllcL and proflles of
core anLl-lsrael acLlvlsLs.
Ior more |nformat|on contact:
Aryeh Welnberg, keseotcb ultectot
lnsLlLuLe for !ewlsh & CommunlLy 8esearch
413.386.2604
www.!ewlsh8esearch.org
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