Swarthmore College
D
Deficient Approach
Approximately 7% of Swarthmore College's student population is Jewish. There is a Chabad and Swarthmore Kehilah, a "pluralistic community that is based on the principle of radical welcoming and joyful engagement with Jewish traditions and culture."
What’s Happening on Campus?
The Swarthmore Kehilah has been known to support BDS ideas on campus.
Swarthmore has active Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chapters. Since the October 7 Hamas attack, the SJP chapter has organized rallies, teach-ins, and walkouts. On October 30, SJP sent a list of demands to the administration including divestment “in companies that fund the settler-colonial state of Israel” and calling on the college to “boycott… brands that fund Palestinian genocide.”
In February 2024, SJP and JVP projected messages onto a campus building with slogans like, “Globalize the intifada,” “How many kids did you kill today?” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a Title VI investigation at Swarthmore.
In May 2024, a professor attending the on-campus encampment was reported to have said that “Holocaust exceptionalism is rampant” and that Jews benefit from the exaggeration of the Holocaust. Messages reading “Student Intifada” were also found on campus, and protestors took over the stage during a campus concert in order to accuse Israel of committing genocide.
University Policies and Responsive Action
According to a December 2023 statement, the University is actively investigating antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents in the aftermath of October 7. In a message to the campus community, the administration stated that the Division of Student Affairs has issued warning letters to several students involved in such incidents and that anyone found to be in violation of school policies will be held accountable.
In May 2024, in response to a series of antisemitic vandalism on campus, the administration stated that those found to be involved would face immediate disciplinary action. Later that month, for the first time in its history, the College chose to move commencement off campus.
*On April 11, Swarthmore College was graded “F”; in light of new information or events, the grade was changed to a “D” on May 1.
Criteria
Publicly Disclosed Administrative Actions and Policies i
Jewish Life on Campus i
Incidents i
*Incident levels reflect the number of incidents relative to the Jewish student population on campus.
275
Jewish Undergraduate
Population
7.00%
Jewish Undergraduate Percentage
of Total Student Population
This page was last updated on Sep 6, 2024, 1:32 pm