Digital Library
The Limits of Hostility Students Report on Antisemitism and anti-Israel Sentiment at Four US Universities
Topic:
Antisemitism & Antizionism
Principal Investigators:
Graham Wright, Michelle Shain, Shahar Hecht, Leonard Saxe
Study Date:
2017
Source:
Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies,Brandeis University
Key Findings:
This study focuses on undergraduates and their perceptions and experiences of antisemitism and anti-Israel hostility on US campuses. Four institutions are examined: Brandeis University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Michigan). The report draws on survey data collected in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years from representative samples of undergraduates (both Jewish and non-Jewish) at these schools.
Jewish students are rarely exposed to antisemitism on campus. The majority of Jewish students at the four schools studied reported that they had not experienced any form of discrimination at their schools due to their religion.
Jewish students do not think their campus is hostile to Jews. The majority of Jewish students at all four schools disagreed that their campus constituted a “hostile environment toward Jews.” Non-Jewish students at all four schools echoed this view.
Jewish students are exposed to hostile remarks toward Israel on campus. Hearing hostile remarks toward Israel (primarily from students) was far more prevalent than exposure to antisemitic statements.
The majority of students disagree that there is a hostile environment toward Israel on campus. Students were more likely to agree that there was a hostile environment toward Israel on their campus than that there was a hostile environment toward Jews, but most students still disagreed with the former. The exception was at Michigan, where just over half of Jewish students agreed to any extent that the school had a hostile environment toward Israel.
Support for BDS is rare.
Israel and Jews are not a top concern for students.
Jewish students feel safe and that they belong on campus. Overwhelmingly, Jewish students at each of the campuses reported feeling safe on their campus. They were also more likely to feel that they “belonged” at their institution than non-Jewish students.
Methodology:
The findings presented in this report are based on online surveys of undergraduates conducted at Brandeis University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The Brandeis, Penn, and Michigan surveys employed simple random samples of undergraduates ages 18 or older, drawn from the school’s own lists of undergraduates. Students at these three schools were sent email invitations to complete the survey online, using a unique URL. At Harvard, a list of undergraduate emails addresses could not be obtained for use as a sampling frame. Instead, an open access link to the survey was distributed to Harvard sophomores, juniors, and seniors via email by Harvard “house fellows” to students in their dorms. Email invitations were followed by three to four email reminders. At all four schools, survey respondents received a $10 Amazon.com gift card upon completion of the survey.