Digital Library
The Harassment of Jewish Students on U.S. Campuses How Eliminationist Anti-Zionism and Academic BDS Incite Campus Antisemitism
Topic:
Antisemitism & Antizionism, Israel & Regional Politics
Principal Investigators:
Leila Beckwith, Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Study Date:
2019
Source:
AMCHA
Key Findings:
This article reviews the fact that, though classical antisemitism in the U.S. reached near-historic levels in 2018 and included the deadliest attack against Jews in American history, within U.S. higher education settings it was actually Israel-related acts of targeted anti-Jewish harassment that rose significantly. The data suggests that this phenomenon may be a direct consequence of the increased promotion and implementation of academic BDS.
Classical antisemitic harassment decreased by 42%, while Israel-related harassment increased by 70%. Israel-related harassment of Jewish students for harm became increasingly vilifying and exclusionary. Acts targeting Zionist students and student groups for Denigration more than doubled in 2018, and included accusations of evils such as racism, white supremacy, Islamophobia, and supporting apartheid, genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The number of incidents involving the demonization or delegitimization of Israel or Zionism increased by 32%, from 311 incidents in 2017 to 410 incidents in 2018. Expression openly promoting or condoning the elimination or destruction of Israel as a Jewish state more than doubled, with 58 reported incidents in 2017 to 129 in 2018.
Promotion and implementation of academic BDS more than doubled in 2018, and was strongly linked to both Israel-related antisemitic expression and acts targeting Jewish students for harm. Schools with Israel-related antisemitic expression were 11.3 times more likely to have incidents of academic BDS promotion or implementation. 86% of the Israel-related acts of antisemitic harassment were consistent with the USACBI guidelines.
Faculty and departmental participation in anti-Zionist behavior and expression increased significantly. Incidents of faculty or department promotion, or attempted implementation, of academic BDS almost quadrupled in 2018. The number of events sponsored by academic departments that contained the demonization or delegitimization of Israel increased by 85% in 2018. The number of departmentally-sponsored events at which one or more speakers advocated for or condoned violence against Israel or its elimination nearly tripled in 2018.
Notably, students and faculty more openly acknowledged their own anti-Zionist intent and the anti-Zionist intent of BDS in 2018. Acknowledgement by BDS supporters that the goal of BDS is to bring about or facilitate the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state increased by 3200% in 2018. Open acknowledgment by an individual or group of their opposition to Zionism, Israel’s founding ideology, increased more than three-fold.
Methodology:
Data collected between 2017 and 2018 by AMCHA’s Antisemitism Tracker (which analyses culled incidents from submitted reports, campus police logs, media accounts, social media postings and on-line recordings from 2015 to the present that both occurred on U.S. college or university campuses and contain antisemitic content) was pulled for this study.
Incidents identified as “Targeting Jewish Students and Staff for Harm” involve: Physical Assault, Discrimination, Destruction of Property, Genocidal Expression, Bullying, Denigrating, Suppression of Speech/Movement/Assembly. Language or imagery identified as “Antisemitic Expression” involves: Historical Antisemitism, Condoning Terrorism against Israel or Jews, Denying Jews Self-Determination, Demonization of Israel.
“Incidents of classic antisemitism” demonstrate anti-Jewish animus, either through language or imagery containing anti-Jewish messages, or through actions targeting identifiably Jewish individuals or objects. “Israel-related incidents,” demonstrate anti-Israel animus, either through language or imagery containing anti-Israel messages, or through actions targeting identifiably pro-Israel individuals or objects.
Behavior was identified as having implemented or attempted to implement the academic boycott of Israel when it met one or both of two sets of criteria stated in the official guidelines of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI). Expression was identified as having “anti-Zionist intent” if its message: 1) stated explicitly that the speaker or speakers were “anti-Zionist” or “opposed to Zionism” or 2) denigrated Zionism in a way that clearly implied opposition to it.
Expression was identified as acknowledging the eliminationist intent of BDS when the BDS proponent(s) openly stated that its goal was either: 1) to eliminate or destroy the Jewish state; 2) one step towards the goal of eliminating or destroying Israel or Israel as a Jewish state; or 3) would lead to an action or set of actions that would inevitably destroy Israel or eliminate it as a Jewish state, such as calling for the “right of return” of millions of Palestinians and their descendants, which would make Jews a minority in Israel.