Jewish students at American universities are increasingly having their personal liberties, particularly freedom of expression, suppressed as pro-Palestinian groups tighten their grip on campus hierarchies, a report has found.
A mid-year study undertaken by the AMCHA initiative, which seeks to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitism, found that Jewish students had experienced almost a 100% increase in the suppression of their speech and civil liberties since 2015.
The report found that there were almost 100 more anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses from January to June in 2016 than the same period in 2015.
It also found that a majority of incidents of suppression of speech came from pro-Palestinian societies such as Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, with calls for the utter elimination of Israel also tripling in 2016.
Schools such as Columbia, Vassar, New York University, University of Chicago, University of Minnesota, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Florida, and the University of Washington all saw the largest increases in anti-Semitism this year.
The news comes as a report from the Anti-Defamation league found that incidents of anti-Semitism at American universities nearly doubled in 2015, a trend in line with the country in general.
Concluding the report, the initiative said, “These findings and trends serve to highlight the serious and growing problem of campus antisemitism” and, “The lines between political discourse on Israeli policy and discrimination toward Jewish students have become blurred.”
“To properly address this rise in anti-Jewish bigotry that is a direct result of the rise of the anti-Zionist movement, universities must clarify when political speech crosses the line into antisemitism,” it said.
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