Jewish life at Purdue University is supported by a Hillel, Chabad, and Jewish Greek life organizations.

What’s Happening on Campus?

In February 2024, a student spoke before the Indiana legislature, highlighting ongoing activities by the campus Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), particularly their weekly rallies, which have occasionally targeted Jewish and Zionist students through confrontational methods.

In April 2024, the "Purdue Liberation Zone" sit-in encampment took place, involving students from SJP, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) with signs advocating for divestment and resistance for Palestine.

University Policies and Responsive Action

Directly following the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, President Chiang wrote a personal letter to the Jewish community, condemning the attacks and antisemitism, providing support to Jewish members of the campus community and noting Purdue’s ties to Israeli colleges.

At the end of October 2023, Hillel hosted over 30 administrators for a two-hour training on antisemitism on campuses facilitated by Hillel International.

In June 2024, Purdue signed a statement re-affirming their pre-existing decades-old position of institutional neutrality, emphasizing the university's commitment to impartiality amid ongoing campus tensions.

In response to the sit-in encampment events, Purdue charged four students and the involved organizations with multiple violations of university regulations in July 2024. The disciplinary measures included disciplinary probation for three students and a probated suspension for one.

In March 2025, the University added antisemitism education to their orientation programming and established a standing committee, HEAL, focused on Jewish life on campus in the wake of the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. That same month, the University also re-affirmed its opposition to BDS and integrated antisemitism into its non-discrimination policies.

The university has a University Religious Leaders (URL) group, which brings together multiple organizations and clergy to ensure that faith leaders can better serve the campus community. In addition, the Jewish Studies Department collaborates with the local Lafayette Holocaust Remembrance Committee each year to organize a speaker series and other initiatives.

*Following the implementation of new policy actions, Purdue’s 2025 grade was revised from a B to an A on April 4, 2025.