An anti-hate watchdog recently handed out failing grades to some of America’s most prestigious universities for their handling of antisemitism on campus, and students at the same elite institutions are speaking out, saying the findings are not surprising.
“The moral corruption surrounding our elite academic institutions should be alarming to not only Jews,” University of Pennsylvania undergraduate student Eyal Yakoby told Fox News Digital.
“The hate that our professors and fellow students harbor has been running rampant, and administrations are still searching for their moral compasses. This study should be a wake-up call, and academic institutions must stop being ambivalent about antisemitism,” he continued.
Yakoby was reacting to a recent report released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that found universities including Harvard, MIT and Stanford received failing F grades for the state of antisemitism on their campuses, while schools such as Penn, University of California at Berkeley and Princeton received D grades.
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An Instagram account run by anti-Israel Harvard faculty took heat after sharing a post containing antisemitic imagery. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
The grades are part of the ADL’s new Campus Antisemitism Report Card, which examined 85 schools and assigned grades ranging from A through F, based on “21 criteria for assessment, categorized into: administrative action and policies, incidents on campus, and Jewish student life on campus,” according to the press release published last week.
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Cases of antisemitism have spiked on campuses nationwide following the outbreak of war in Israel on Oct. 7, with college leaders coming under intense fire on the national stage for their handling of antisemitism.
The University of Pennsylvania and Harvard both saw their presidents resign amid national and campus outrage after they appeared before Congress in December and were grilled about their handling of antisemitism on their respective campuses.
When asked for comment on the study and Yakoby’s comments, a Penn spokesperson said in a statement that the ADL’s “work to combat antisemitism is vital” and that the school values “its expertise and ongoing engagement as we actively work to prevent antisemitism on our campus, now and for the long term.”
“We recognize we have more work to do and are undertaking it with urgency and focus.”
“The University of Pennsylvania celebrates our robust Jewish community and strives to be a place where all Jewish students, faculty, and staff can thrive,” the spokesperson continued. “Penn has repeatedly condemned antisemitism, emphatically and unconditionally. We are implementing a comprehensive Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism and have taken decisive and significant action to ensure safety and security on our campus. We have hosted multiple experts and panels to provide knowledge about the history of antisemitism and strategies to prevent it. Over the past few months, our Antisemitism Task Force has worked diligently to provide interim recommendations and will soon offer additional action steps Penn can take for enduring impact.”
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A counterprotester is held back by police during an anti-Israel demonstration in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Oct. 9, 2023. (Fox News Digital)
Jewish high school students in the New York City area were even warned this year against applying to Cornell University over the school’s reported failure to protect Jewish students from repeated instances of antisemitism.
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MIT graduate student Talia Khan, who has provided congressional testimony on the rise in antisemitism on campuses, said the prestigious school’s failing grade did not come as a shock.
“As an MIT student, it is unfortunately no surprise that MIT received an F, making it one of the worst schools in the country for Jews. Recently, in a shocking display of disturbing disconnection from reality, President Sally Kornbluth inquired of a professor as to why the Jewish students remain so upset. He was shocked,” Khan told Fox News Digital.
“Sally Kornbluth and the MIT administration have done nothing tangible to improve life for all students on campus whose academic experience is being disrupted by Hamas and PFLP terrorist sympathizers who repeatedly flout MIT rules and are never disciplined in a way that stops them from continuing to make MIT an unsafe environment for all students, especially Jews and Israelis.”
Kornbluth was grilled alongside Harvard’s and Penn’s respective presidents during a congressional hearing in December, but she did not resign like her academic colleagues. MIT had been repeatedly accused of failing to stop antisemitic acts from a student group called the Coalition Against Apartheid, including before the outbreak of war, including the vandalism of a Holocaust display and allegedly declaring support for Hamas, the New York Post reported in December.
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MIT suspended the student group after “once again” carrying out “a demonstration on campus without going through the normal permission processes that apply to every student group at MIT,” Kornbluth said in February.
American University students in Washington, D.C., attend a campus protest against Israeli attacks in Gaza on Nov. 1, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Colleges have seen repeat protests and rallies against Israel since October, including this month when an estimated 150 students at Pomona College in California stormed an administrative building, resulting in arrests and a stern warning from the college president that such behavior would not be tolerated; New Jersey’s Rutger University required police assistance at a town hall when anti-Israel protesters this month.
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Beyond the world of academia, anti-Israel agitators shut down San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street in New York City just on Monday alone, with many chanting “Free, free Palestine” and “Israel bombs. USA pays. How many kids did you kill today?”
The protests Monday follow Iran launching a failed attack on Israel over the weekend, including deploying hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The attack only caused minor damage in Israel.
When asked if a culture of antisemitism on U.S. campuses and across the nation has possibly emboldened Iran, Khan said terrorists are likely “thrilled” with anti-Israel protests in America.
“I couldn’t begin to put myself inside the minds of those people, but I would imagine they’re thrilled seeing 18-year-old kids from the U.S. hold events in support for their terror groups,” she said.
The ADL’s report found that only two schools received A grades: Brandeis University and Elon University. While 17 schools received B grades and 29 schools received C marks.
Cases of antisemitism have spiked on campuses nationwide since war broke out between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)
“It’s time for campuses to step up and protect our children from the hate and antisemitism that has proliferated on college campuses across the country this year,” said Emma Law-Oppman of Mothers Against College Antisemitism in the ADL’s press release. “It is our hope that ADL’s Report Card serves as a much-needed [wake-up] call for schools to prioritize creating a safe and welcoming environment for all students. At M.A.C.A., our members are fully prepared and energized to demand a massive change from school leadership across the country.”
Some universities have since pushed back on the report’s findings, including Tufts University, which received an F grade.
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“We disagree with the ADL’s grade and encourage people to look at the underlying data,” a Tufts spokesperson told Fox News Digital when the report was first released.
“As the ADL itself notes, Tufts has a vibrant Jewish student life, has established policies, practices and training to improve our campus climate and fight antisemitism, has leaders who are committed to this work, has promoted listening and dialogue across campus, has firmly opposed the BDS movement, and has vigorously condemned antisemitic incidents on campus.”