The University of Florida Hillel hosted its sixth annual “Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate” program in response to the high levels of antisemitism across college campuses. The event brought together over 500 student volunteers and collected more than 6,000 signatures on a pledge to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate.
Anti-Israel demonstrators vandalized Oheb Shalom Congregation in South Orange, New Jersey, in protest against a talk given by members of the Israeli Air Force’s search-and-rescue unit. Protesters graffitied the driveway of the synagogue and shouted “baby killers” at passersby. Police are investigating the incident as a bias crime.
Rutgers University Student Government voted against a resolution to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism– which is widely accepted globally as one of the leading definitions to identify and combat antisemitic rhetoric.
Jewish New Yorkers showed up to support a popular Israeli restaurant, Miriam, in Park Slope after it was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident, and no arrests have been made at this time.
The Binghamton University Student Association Congress issued a statement condemning a recent proposal to divest from Israel. The student government emphasized that it was established to represent all student voices, including Jewish student voices, and expressed that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement leads to the marginalization of Jewish students.
Harvard University settled Title VI lawsuits this week which alleged that Harvard failed to protect its Jewish students amid a rise of antisemitism on campus following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. With the settlement, Harvard agreed to take steps towards countering antisemitism on its campus, including integrating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into university’s policies, establishing an official partnership with Israeli universities, and providing additional resources for the study of antisemitism.