Most Jewish families applying for college have eliminated a school based on rising antisemitism: Survey

A majority of Jewish parents of college applicants this year say their child has cut at least one school from their list due to rising antisemitism after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, according to a new poll from Hillel International.  

Sixty-four percent of Jewish parents say their student has eliminated at least one potential college, 96 percent say they are worried about antisemitism on campus and 80 percent say they are focused on campus safety in their college search process.

“These findings confirm what we’ve consistently heard from Jewish parents since October 7: They are alarmed by the dramatic rise in antisemitism on campus, and they and their students are changing their approach to the college decision-making process because of it,” said Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International.

The group said it has recorded 1,215 antisemitic incidents on campuses from Oct. 7 to April. 1, a 700 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Eighty-four percent of Jewish parents said they are talking to their students about how to handle antisemitism if it is directed at them on campus, and 87 percent said Oct. 7 and the subsequent war had an impact on the way they approach college decisions and selecting a school.

House Republicans have targeted numerous universities for antisemitic activity on their grounds, opening specific investigations into five so far, including Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.

In the investigations, lawmakers have asked for information regarding antisemitism on campuses going back to 2021. However, Republicans and leadership at the universities have butted heads on the issue.

“I don’t know if its arrogance, ineptness, or indifference that’s guiding Harvard. Regardless, its actions to date are shameful. Just last week Congress heard devastating and awful first-hand accounts of rampant antisemitism on college campuses – including at Harvard. Despite this, Harvard has absolutely failed to comply in good faith with the Committee’s subpoena for information about antisemitism on its campus,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the chair for the House Education Committee, after she argued Harvard failed to provide the antisemitism documents that were requested.

Harvard says it has complied with the panel’s subpoena and plans to continue to work with lawmakers on this issue.