As a new semester begins at universities across the country, it also means a new season of campus activism, and possibly violence.
Last semester, when chaotic pro-Palestinian protests and encampments took over schools across the country, many Jewish students expressed concerns about their safety and the House of Representatives and the Department of Education launched investigations into anti-Semitism at universities including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Temple University.
The situation has gotten so out of hand that 44 percent of Jewish students and recent graduates admit they don't feel comfortable identifying as Jewish on campus, according to a new survey by the Alumni Association for Campus Equity.
The Post spoke to four Jewish students at universities under investigation for anti-Semitism about their concerns heading into the new semester.
'I“I was shocked at the lack of solidarity.”
Nicholas Baum was enjoying a wonderful month as a freshman at Columbia University last year when tragedy struck.
“Up until Oct. 7, I was just enjoying my experience at Columbia,” Baum, 19, told The Post. “It was wonderful. I felt very safe and was able to freely express my Jewish identity.”
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, Baum, who grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, found momentary solace in the Jewish community.
“My fellow Jewish people came together, grieved together, became one, and were united. It was a really beautiful sight,” he said. “But what immediately struck me was the lack of sympathy or solidarity from the rest of the Columbia University community.”
A few days after the tragedy in Israel, Colombia Taken over The large pro-Palestinian protests left Baum feeling “totally unsupported.”
“I was completely taken aback by this, because I felt that the Columbia community, even though they have many legitimate criticisms of the state of Israel and its treatment of Palestinians, would at least treat us Jewish students with a basic level of humanity and nuance regarding the fact that our family and friends were killed on Oct. 7,” he said.
Baum said he heard protesters just outside the campus gates yelling that Jews should go back to Poland and that Tel Aviv should be burned down.
Baum, an economics and statistics major, is nervous about returning to campus as she prepares for her sophomore year.
“Most of the students I know agree that this year's protests will be just as bad, if not worse, than last year's,” he said. “I just hope that my classmates will at least have the decency to stay away from blatant anti-Semitism.”
'People called me a baby killer.”
“There was definitely a lot of verbal harassment,” Yaam Malka, a freshman at Temple University in Philadelphia, told The Post. “There were huge rallies on campus, yelling nasty things. Students were being called baby killers, terrorists and K-es.”
Malka said she was especially troubled by anti-Semitic vandalism on campus. Temple University is under investigation by the Department of Education for anti-Semitism on campus after a Jewish student dorm was vandalized with the words “Liberate Palestine.” Painted on the roof.
Malka said she became the target of anti-Semitic rhetoric on campus last semester after she became a vocal advocate on social media for the release of Israeli hostages.
“Just walking to class, people would shout at me, 'Free Palestine' and call me a baby killer and a terrorist,” said Malka, who is studying psychology, political science and economics. “I felt uncomfortable walking to and from class. It was hard to stay focused in that environment.”
The 19-year-old said she would “never hide who I am,” but understands why some of her generation do.
“I'm not scared, but I understand why some people would hide their Star of David. You look around campuses across America and you see they're not safe,” she said.
“But I think the people who are protesting are seeing other people getting away with whatever they do, so we may be heading towards a worse situation than what we experienced last year.”
Concerns about “brainwashing” professor
Noah Rubin decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania because it seemed like a welcoming atmosphere, but he was bitterly disappointed last year.
“After Oct. 7, Jewish students began to feel very uncomfortable and very unsafe on campus,” Rubin, 21, told The Washington Post. “The University of Pennsylvania advertises itself as a very safe and welcoming place, and unfortunately that has not been the case.”
Last year, the University of Pennsylvania was sued by Jewish students alleging incidents such as: Anti-Semitic graffiti Its location next to a Jewish fraternity house and bomb threats against Hillel's dining hall made the campus an uncomfortable place to be.
“It's really taken a toll on me,” said Rubin, a senior studying business and electrical engineering. “There were weeks last year when I only got four or five hours of sleep a night.”
Rubin, a Florida native, took every opportunity to voice her concerns to campus leaders: “Instead of going to classes, review sessions or even social events, I would meet with someone from the university administration who would talk to me.
“To be honest, it felt like I was talking to a wall every time,” he said.
Despite increased security on campus as the new semester begins, Rubin isn't convinced the situation will improve much, and his biggest concern is the influence of radical pro-Palestinian faculty.
“There are still many professors out there who supported the illegal encampments,” he said. “I worry that these professors will continue to try to brainwash the future leaders of the United States. I've only been here four years, but professors have been here for decades and can shape the culture.”
'The family wants to transfer
Ariel Khojab began her freshman year at New York University in the spring semester amid intensifying anti-Israel protests.
“It was really scary,” the 19-year-old told The Washington Post. “I always wear a Star of David, but on my first day I purposely wore a different necklace.”
Khojab was alarmed by the encampments his classmates had set up and the rhetoric they were spewing: “There were so many calls for an intifada. It was everywhere.”
One day last semester, she said, a protester near campus called her a “Zionist pig” during a break from classes.
“At that moment, I felt so attacked,” said Khojab, a nutritional science student. “I can't even walk around campus or the city without being targeted because of my identity.”
Even her classroom was not immune to division, especially after one professor showed up to class wearing a traditional Palestinian kefir cap.
“In some classes, I didn't tell them I was Jewish,” Khojab said, “scared that the professors would be prejudiced.”
She lost friends this semester because of her support for Israel.
“This time has helped me realize who my real friends are,” she says. “I distance myself from people who have to pretend to be someone they're not or hide parts of their identity.”
Khojab, a Syrian Jew from Mexico, said her family was outraged by anti-Semitism at NYU and had been trying to persuade her to transfer.
“My grandparents, my parents, my uncles, all the older people around me don't understand why I'm doing this.”
