Jewish college students are increasingly choosing universities in the South and Southwest, citing concerns about antisemitism and campus climate, among other reasons. In an article for The Atlantic, reporter Rose Horowitch writes that data gathered by Hillel International indicates a 3–5% decline in Jewish undergraduate enrollment at schools like Harvard, Columbia, and Penn from 2023 to 2025. In contrast, universities such as Vanderbilt, Emory, and Tulane have seen significant growth in Jewish student populations, with some institutions doubling their Jewish enrollment during the same period.

The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce initiated investigations into the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Illinois. The committee is examining allegations of antisemitic incidents and the institutions’ responses to them.

George Washington University (GW) has suspended its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, citing violations of university policies during campus protests that followed the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel. Additionally, six other student organizations have been placed on probation. Suspended groups will not receive official recognition, funding, or institutional support this semester, and those on probation must seek permission for on-campus events in the spring.

Jewish organizations, including the ADL, Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Hillel International, and Jewish Federations of North America, called on universities to “consistently enforce” codes of conduct around protests; appoint a coordinator to address Title VI discrimination complaints; reject academic boycotts of Israel; conduct annual student and faculty surveys in regard to campus antisemitism; crackdown on online harassment; and hold faculty accountable for political coercion and identity-based discrimination.

A 20-year-old Ohio resident, Timur Mamatov, pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after attacking two Jewish students near Ohio State University in 2023. He asked if the victims were Jewish before assaulting them, breaking one student’s jaw and another’s nose. Mamatov now faces up to 10 years in prison.

A federal judge ordered the U.S. government to restore part of UCLA’s funding that it suspended, ruling that the funding freeze violated a preliminary injunction aimed at protecting research grants. The government previously cut approximately $584 million in funding due to anti-Israel campus protests and encampments in the spring of 2024.