Jewish Life at Duke, the university’s Hillel, received the 2024-2025 Duke Presidential Award for significant contributions to the campus community. Hillel’s “Antisemitism 101” training for faculty and staff was a standout initiative, recognized for its impact in creating a more inclusive campus.
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.
The start of the semester at Columbia University was marked by anti-Israel protests outside the university’s gates and library, and protesters disrupting a class on the history of modern Israel. The class, taught by Israeli professor Avi Shilon, was interrupted as demonstrators threw fliers that wrote “Crush Zionism” at the students, argued with the professor, and refused to leave.
A bipartisan bill, the Protecting Students on Campus Act, has been reintroduced in the Senate, aiming to strengthen protections for students facing discrimination. The bill would make it easier for students to report civil rights complaints and hold universities accountable. The reintroduction follows the release of data from Hillel International, which reported a nearly 700% increase in antisemitic incidents on U.S. campuses between 2023 and 2024.
Hillel Ontario witnessed a 40% surge in student participation in programs and activities in the aftermath of October 7 and is expecting further growth in the new academic year.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is directing University of California (UC) schools to take stronger action against antisemitic behavior and harassment targeting Jewish students. Complaints of such incidents have been reported across the UC campuses, including UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and UC San Diego.