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House committee finds "stunning failures" at several colleges and universities in confronting antisemitism
New York, NY, October 30, 2024 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today commended the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for its investigation into the antisemitism that has taken colleges and universities by storm since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023. The committee’s investigation found that the leadership of several institutions failed to confront rampant antisemitism on their campuses and prioritize the safety of Jewish students.
Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:
We applaud Congress for continuing to exercise its oversight authority to investigate the antisemitism Jewish students are facing across the country and hold colleges and universities accountable.
No student should face hatred at school, but since Oct. 7, the antisemitic vitriol, intimidation and violence in classrooms and on campuses has been unrelenting.
In the year following Hamas’ October 7th attack against Israel, ADL has recorded over 1,200 antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses in the United States. In the same period a year before, ADL recorded about 200 incidents, representing a 500-percent increase.
Today’s report from Congress shines a light on many of the issues ADL has been sounding an alarm on for the past year. Administrators have the responsibility to protect their students – yet they too often fail to enforce their own policies and codes of conduct, frequently allowing offenders to face little to no accountability by compromising on disciplinary actions for those who violate policies.
Due to the rising crisis of antisemitism in educational spaces, ADL launched the new Ronald Birnbaum Center to Combat Antisemitism in Education (CCAE) today. CCAE will prioritize a whole-of-society approach to countering antisemitism in education – harnessing ADL’s research, advocacy, litigation, monitoring and outreach to drive meaningful action to change the education ecosystem and protect students.
Congress and the Administration must take swift action to protect students on campus. Congress should urgently pass the Countering Antisemitism Act and the Antisemitism Awareness Act which would give government the tools to more effectively combat the campus antisemitism crisis this report documents. In order to ensure the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights can protect students’ rights, safety, and welcoming, Congress must ensure that it has sufficient resources.
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ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. More at www.adl.org.