Latest News from Campus

University College London (UCL) reopened an investigation into a student who reportedly told a Jewish peer that the October 7, 2023 attacks were “justified and reasonable,” and that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization.” Initially, UCL declined to take disciplinary action, citing freedom of speech policy, but reversed course and apologized after media coverage and pressure.

A U.S. district court judge blocked the federal government from cutting funding to or fining the University of California system over accusations of antisemitism. Judge Rita Lin said the administration’s actions were “coercive” and “in violation of the First Amendment and Tenth Amendment.”

More than 60 attorneys and leaders of Jewish legal groups met in Manhattan at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law’s first legal summit to strategize on antisemitism cases, including those on college campuses. They focused on sharing ideas and best practices to effectively combat antisemitism at universities, in K-12 education, and in the workplace.

Toronto police arrested an anti-Israel activist, for allegedly using a drill bit to break a glass door during an IDF veterans’ speaking tour at Toronto Metropolitan University. Qabil Ibrahim, who is the sixth anti-Israel activist to have been charged in relation to the incident, faces charges including forcible entry, assault, unlawful assembly while masked, property damage, and interference.

Two Jewish alumni sued Chapman University, claiming they faced “a campaign of harassment lasting for the entire duration of the 2023-2024 school year, enacted with Chapman’s direct approval,” citing death threats and desecration  of Oct. 7 memorials. The lawsuit centers on alleged Title VI violations of the Civil Rights Act.

Rabbi Ari Israel, who has led Maryland Hillel as executive director for over two decades, is playing a key role in the creation of a new center for Jewish life on campus — Maryland Hillel’s new building. The site for the new space returns Hillel to its original location, where it served students from 1941 to 1981. The nearly 40,000-square-foot building will include kosher dining, study spaces, a Beit Midrash, multipurpose rooms, and features designed to support Jewish student leadership, Israel education, and antisemitism awareness.