Brandeis has a Hillel, Chabad, and Jewish Greek life organizations, as well as the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.

What’s Happening on Campus?

In October 2024, a newspaper in the Brandeis University Library containing an article advocating for creating a Hillel House on campus was defaced with messages that read "Zionist" and "The Holocaust killed bundists like me not Zionists like you."

University Policies and Responsive Action

Brandeis was the first private university to revoke official recognition of its Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter due to the group’s activity on campus in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack. The Brandeis Student Union also issued a statement “strongly condemn[ing] Hamas, including their recent and horrific terrorist attacks against Israel.”

Brandeis has an established partnership with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies published a report titled In the Shadow of War: Hotspots of Antisemitism on US College Campuses.

The University has launched the Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education, aimed at educating university administrators about addressing antisemitism. The University also provides mandatory antisemitism education for its campus community and openly pursues a policy of active engagement with, and support of, Israel.

The University has made clear that phrases such as “From the river to the sea” are hate speech and contrary to the University’s Principles.

In response to the 2024 anti-Israel encampments nationwide, the University announced that it would extend its deadline for transfer applications, encouraging Jewish students who feel unsafe on their campuses to consider applying to Brandeis.

In advance of the 2024-25 academic year, the administration circulated the Campus Use of Space policy to the entire campus community, underscoring that encampments are prohibited and that third parties are not permitted to join campus protests.

In May 2025, the University announced a major partnership with Hillel at Brandeis to renovate a former administrative building into a new, state-of-the-art Center for Jewish Life. In October 2025, Brandeis appointed the inaugural Lavine Director of Jewish Studies and Director of the Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness, with the Center designed to serve as a national platform for scholarship and research about antisemitism and how to combat it.

The University has also conducted a series of virtual seminars on "Navigating Antisemitism on Campus and Beyond” and continues work on its Israel Initiative to expand partnerships with Israeli institutions and scholars.

Brandeis has a Hillel, Chabad, and Jewish Greek life organizations, as well as the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.

What’s Happening on Campus?

In October 2024, a newspaper in the Brandeis University Library containing an article advocating for creating a Hillel House on campus was defaced with messages that read "Zionist" and "The Holocaust killed bundists like me not Zionists like you."

University Policies and Responsive Action

Brandeis was the first private university to revoke official recognition of its Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter due to the group’s activity on campus in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack. The Brandeis Student Union also issued a statement “strongly condemn[ing] Hamas, including their recent and horrific terrorist attacks against Israel.”

Brandeis has an established partnership with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies published a report titled In the Shadow of War: Hotspots of Antisemitism on US College Campuses.

The University has launched the Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education, aimed at educating university administrators about addressing antisemitism. The University also provides mandatory antisemitism education for its campus community and openly pursues a policy of active engagement with, and support of, Israel.

The University has made clear that phrases such as “From the river to the sea” are hate speech and contrary to the University’s Principles.

In response to the 2024 anti-Israel encampments nationwide, the University announced that it would extend its deadline for transfer applications, encouraging Jewish students who feel unsafe on their campuses to consider applying to Brandeis.

In advance of the 2024-25 academic year, the administration circulated the Campus Use of Space policy to the entire campus community, underscoring that encampments are prohibited and that third parties are not permitted to join campus protests.

In May 2025, the University announced a major partnership with Hillel at Brandeis to renovate a former administrative building into a new, state-of-the-art Center for Jewish Life. In October 2025, Brandeis appointed the inaugural Lavine Director of Jewish Studies and Director of the Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness, with the Center designed to serve as a national platform for scholarship and research about antisemitism and how to combat it.

The University has also conducted a series of virtual seminars on "Navigating Antisemitism on Campus and Beyond” and continues work on its Israel Initiative to expand partnerships with Israeli institutions and scholars.

Brandeis has a Hillel, Chabad, and Jewish Greek life organizations, as well as the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.

What’s Happening on Campus?

In October 2024, a newspaper in the Brandeis University Library containing an article advocating for creating a Hillel House on campus was defaced with messages that read "Zionist" and "The Holocaust killed bundists like me not Zionists like you."

University Policies and Responsive Action

Brandeis was the first private university to revoke official recognition of its Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter due to the group’s activity on campus in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack. The Brandeis Student Union also issued a statement “strongly condemn[ing] Hamas, including their recent and horrific terrorist attacks against Israel.”

Brandeis has an established partnership with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies published a report titled In the Shadow of War: Hotspots of Antisemitism on US College Campuses.

The University has launched the Presidential Initiative to Counter Antisemitism in Higher Education, aimed at educating university administrators about addressing antisemitism. The University also provides mandatory antisemitism education for its campus community and openly pursues a policy of active engagement with, and support of, Israel.

The University has made clear that phrases such as “From the river to the sea” are hate speech and contrary to the University’s Principles.

In response to the 2024 anti-Israel encampments nationwide, the University announced that it would extend its deadline for transfer applications, encouraging Jewish students who feel unsafe on their campuses to consider applying to Brandeis.

In advance of the 2024-25 academic year, the administration circulated the Campus Use of Space policy to the entire campus community, underscoring that encampments are prohibited and that third parties are not permitted to join campus protests.

In May 2025, the University announced a major partnership with Hillel at Brandeis to renovate a former administrative building into a new, state-of-the-art Center for Jewish Life. In October 2025, Brandeis appointed the inaugural Lavine Director of Jewish Studies and Director of the Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness, with the Center designed to serve as a national platform for scholarship and research about antisemitism and how to combat it.

The University has also conducted a series of virtual seminars on "Navigating Antisemitism on Campus and Beyond” and continues work on its Israel Initiative to expand partnerships with Israeli institutions and scholars.