Increasing incidents of harassment and hate crimes on college and university campuses make it clear that the ideals of the higher education environment: inquiry, free expression, and civil exchange of ideas, can be easily exploited by perpetrators of hate. The Anti-Defamation League is equipped with a broad range of preventive and reactive programs and resources to address the challenges of hate on campus.
ADL RESOURCES
Formal programs are complimented by ADL resource manuals to assist university administrators and students in dealing with issues of bias and hatred.
Advocating for Israel: An Activist Guide lays out the key points needed to challenge anti-Israel propaganda while giving action plans to counter the multifaceted threats to Israel.
Confronting Anti-Semitism Myths and Facts Guide connects general concepts of stereotyping with definitions of anti-Semitic prejudice and discrimination, and explores the history of anti-Semitism. In addition, it analyzes persistent Jewish stereotypes and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, ranging from the assumption that Jews are cheap or responsible for the death of Jesus to the supposition that Israel had advance knowledge of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
CHALLENGES ON CAMPUS
In recent decades, campuses have become a new proving ground for the tactics of diverse hate groups, forcing some colleges and universities onto the front line in the fight against extremism, racism, and anti-Semitism. Below are some of the major challenges facing universities today.
Anti-Israel Activity
Anti-Israel and Anti-Zionist rallies and events have gone beyond legitimate criticism of Israel and have been marked by hateful attacks against Jews and the Jewish state, crossing the line into blatant anti-Semitism.
Anti-Semitic Speakers
Extremist and anti-Semitic speakers are invited to campus by student organizations where they spew anti-Semitic vitriol and create divisiveness among student groups.
Holocaust Denial
Propagandists target campus newspapers to place advertisements questioning the established history of the Holocaust.
Anti-Israel Divestment Campaigns
In an effort to delegitimize the state of Israel, far-left and radical Muslim groups have launched a campaign to divest from companies doing business with Israel.
Harassment
Many students and faculty suffer malicious forms of harassment including threats, physical attack and verbal abuse.
Religious Accommodation
Conflicts often arise when exams or course registration are scheduled on Jewish and other religious holidays. Students are placed in the difficult position of choosing between religious observance and the fulfillment of an academic requirement.
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS
In response to the challenges on campus, ADL has developed formal workshops and programs. These programs illustrate ADL’s wide impact when dealing with hate crimes, anti-Semitism, religious accommodation, and anti-Israel sentiment. The collective work of ADL professionals and lay leaders around the country equips university administrators, students, faculty, and community members with the tools they need to fight bigotry on campus. A list of ADL campuses can be found on page 5.
A CAMPUS OF DIFFERENCE™
Through the A Campus of Difference program, college administrators, faculty members and students learn to examine stereotypes, expand cultural awareness, explore the value of diversity, and combat all forms of bigotry.
Confronting Anti-Semitism
The Confronting Anti-Semitism program empowers the Jewish community to respond to anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents and to challenge the persistent anti-Semitic stereotypes that are at the root of these incidents.
Campus Police Training
ADL’s Campus Law Enforcement Training seminars offer instruction on the special nature of hate crime, the legal and constitutional framework in which federal and state hate crime statues operate, and how to perform investigative and enforcement duties in a way that reassures the victims and helps alleviate community tensions and fear.
From Ivy to Olives Academic Symposium and Study Mission
The From Ivy to Olives Academic Symposium and Study Tour brings together leading American and Israeli professors and Supreme Court Justices for a two day conference followed by a three day study tour. The conference is co-sponsored by Columbia Law School and Ono Academic College.
Campus Leadership Mission to Israel
Politically active undergraduate students and aspiring journalists will learn first hand about Israel today and the complexity of issues surrounding Israeli-Palestinian relations and other regional politics by engaging with politicians, decision makers, journalists, students, and ordinary citizens.
March of Remembrance and Hope
College students of various racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds travel to Poland and Israel for a firsthand view of the destruction of Jewish life during the Holocaust, and then the rebirth of Jewish life in Israel. ADL selected participants travel with hundreds of college students from around the world for this valuable educational experience.
Immediate Response
In addition to formal workshops, ADL employs unique and substantial methods to protect, investigate, and educate by delivering proactive and reactive programs in response to immediate needs of the campus.
