Anti-Israel Sentiments Emerge as the Strongest Predictor of Belief in Anti-Jewish Tropes Among Students
New York, NY, July 11, 2024 … Belief in classic antisemitic tropes increased on four University of California (UC) campuses after Oct. 7, 2023, as did negative sentiments toward Israel, according to a survey of students sponsored by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Center for Antisemitism Research (CAR).
Among students surveyed at the four UC campuses (UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC Riverside, UC Merced), anti-Israel attitudes are much stronger than the general public. Belief in anti-Jewish tropes, however, is similar to the rest of society. Both have increased with time spent at University after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Among the key findings of the UC survey:
- Before Oct. 7, 15 percent of respondents believed it was appropriate for opponents of Israel’s policies to boycott Jewish -owned businesses in their communities; after Oct. 7, this number increased to 19 percent.
- The antisemitic belief that, “Jews don’t care about what happens to anyone but other Jews” increased from 10 to 19 percent.
- The notion that “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the United States” increased from 25 to 35 percent.
- Student belief in the antisemitic trope that, “Jews have too much power in our country” increased from 8 to 13 percent.
Anti-Israel sentiment also increased after Oct. 7, 2023. Notably, while before Oct. 7, 51 percent of respondents believed Israelis carried more responsibility than Palestinians for the past three years of violence, that number increased to 58 percent after the attacks. Before Oct. 7, 38 percent of respondents felt admiration or respect toward Israel, 27 percent felt the same after. And, while 78 percent of respondents agreed before Oct. 7 that “there are no justifications for Palestinian suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians,” this number dropped to 74 percent after the attacks.
Anti-Israel sentiments of students remain the most powerful predictors of believing traditional antisemitic views. Other predictors include xenophobia, political ideology, home religion and belief in conspiracies.
“This study illustrates the undeniable relationship between hatred of the Jewish people and hatred of the Jewish state,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Jewish students, faculty, and administrators have felt increasingly isolated and threatened on campus since the Oct. 7 massacre. University leaders must protect Jews from the violence and harassment they experienced from people who act on these hateful beliefs.”
This change in attitude is happening in a broader context of dramatically increasing antisemitism across the country, especially in California, where ADL documented a record number of antisemitic incidents the 2023 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. ADL recorded 1,266 antisemitic incidents in California, up 144 percent from 518 incidents recorded in 2022.
“In defiance of our expectations, antisemitic attitudes among students increased after Oct. 7 and may account for the sense of isolation and hostility that many Jewish students and faculty reported on various University of California campuses in the weeks and months after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kopstein, professor of Political Science at University of California, Irvine, and CAR research partner. “The data indicates that campuses mirror and magnify the problem of antisemitism in the United States today.”
To assess the relationship between anti-Jewish attitudes and anti-Israel sentiments among students, Dr. Kopstein and his team developed an original questionnaire that was sent out to a random sample of undergraduates at four University of California campuses. They collected a sample of undergraduate student emails from each university’s Registrar’s Office, spanning across all cohorts and majors: 5,000 from UC Irvine (UCI), 5,000 from UC Los Angeles (UCLA), 4,000 from UC Riverside (UCR), and 2,000 from UC Merced (UCM). The survey was administered through Qualtrics and invitations to participate were carried out in waves, depending on when we received the random samples from each university. A significant part of this survey was fielded before Oct. 7, 2023 at UC Irvine, which allowed the researchers to assess the effect of the massacre in Israel on attitudes toward Israel and Jews.
About ADL
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.