ADL Launches Resource Hub & Confidential Reporting Channel for Classroom-Based Antisemitism
New York, NY, August 12, 2026 … ADL's (the Anti-Defamation League) Center to Combat Antisemitism in Education, with support from the ADL Center on Extremism, today launched “When Antisemitism Comes to Class,” a new initiative designed to help colleges and universities address antisemitism where it increasingly takes root: inside classrooms, faculty governance and organized academic networks. The initiative includes two new research reports, practical guidance for higher education leaders and the launch of the Campus Classroom Reporting (CCR) mechanism — a confidential reporting and support channel for students, faculty and staff facing antisemitism in classrooms and curricula.
ADL’s new report, “Antisemitism Among Faculty and in the Classroom: Trends, Patterns and Institutional Dynamics,” examines how faculty conduct, curricular framing and academic governance structures are shaping the experience of Jewish and Israeli students, staff and faculty on college campuses. Beyond the headlines about student protests and encampments, this new research points to less visible institutional and faculty dynamics that may be having a very significant impact on campus climate.
“Antisemitism doesn't only show up in a student protest chant or an encampment, it can show up in a syllabus, a lecture, a seemingly innocuous remark or a coordinated network of professors organizing against Israel's existence,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Because classrooms and faculty organizing spaces are largely invisible to those outside the institution, this problem has been allowed to fester with far less scrutiny than it warrants. Universities cannot claim to be addressing antisemitism seriously if they ignore what happens behind the classroom door and inside faculty governance.”
Key findings from the report include recurring patterns such as:
- One-sided framing that blurs education with advocacy, including course descriptions and syllabi at institutions such as Stanford, Princeton, Northwestern and UC Berkeley that present contested political claims about Israel and Zionism as settled fact.
- The introduction of pro-terrorism narratives into coursework, including assigned readings by leaders of designated terrorist organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and faculty commentary expressing support for or celebration of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
- Academic incentives that pressure students to conform, such as extra credit for attending anti-Israel walkouts and rallies, and canceled classes in favor of protest participation.
- The singling out of Jewish and Israeli students in classroom settings, including being asked to answer for Israeli government policy or being labeled an "occupier" or "murderer" because of national origin or military service.
- Faculty governance actions supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiatives, including resolutions passed by faculty unions and senates in the CUNY system, the California State University system and at Rutgers, Amherst and the University of Michigan.
“Recognizing and addressing these patterns is not in tension with academic freedom, it is necessary to preserve it. Universities have a responsibility to ensure classrooms and faculty governance structures remain places of genuine intellectual openness and fairness, where contested issues are explored with rigor, balance and respect for all students and colleagues,” Greenblatt added.
“Too many incidents of antisemitism in the classroom never come to light — not because they don't matter, but because the path to reporting them has too often been unclear or inaccessible,” said Shira Goodman, ADL Vice President of Public Affairs and Special Initiatives. “The ADL Campus Classroom Reporting (CCR) mechanism helps change that by making it easier to surface concerns and identify patterns. Every student, faculty member and staff member deserves a campus where antisemitism is confronted, accountability is the standard and no one is left to navigate these experiences alone.”
The Faculty Factor: Mapping the Networks Behind Campus Activism
Released alongside this report is an investigation into the organized faculty networks driving anti-Israel and anti-Zionist campus activism, as well as a confidential reporting mechanism for classroom-based concerns. “The Faculty Factor: Inside the Networks Driving Anti-Israel and Anti-Zionist Activism on Campus” documents how an organized segment of faculty groups, unions and networks has become a driving force behind anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activity on campus.
This report reveals how certain faculty networks have deepened their collaboration with anti-Israel student groups since the wave of 2024 campus encampments, providing institutional cover and helping shield them from disciplinary consequences. The report examines several of the most influential networks: Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), American Association of University Professors (AAUP), California Faculty Association (CFA), Coalition for Action in Higher Education (CAHE) and the Sanctuary Campus Network (SCN).
“The hostile environment on campus toward Zionist and Jewish students is not an accident, but the result of organized, well-resourced networks working to reshape academic institutions from within,” said Oren Segal, ADL Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence. “When faculty use their position to shield activists from accountability for their actions, it is a failure in protecting all students equally from hate and harassment.”
ADL tracked 1,694 antisemitic incidents on U.S. campuses in 2024 and 583 in 2025;. While anti-Israel campus protests and widely covered incidents declined, this report reveals what is happening behind closed doors and contributing to a sustained hostile environment.
New Guidance and Reporting Tools
To help institutions translate these findings into action, ADL is also releasing:
- The Campus Classroom Reporting (CCR) mechanism — a new confidential support channel for students, staff and faculty with concerns about antisemitism or biased content related to Jews or Israel in classroom experiences, instructional framing, assignments or faculty conduct. ADL's research has found that the large majority of students who witness or experience antisemitism on campus never report the incident to campus authorities, underscoring the need for accessible, low-barrier options to report incidents.
- A variety of best practice guides and model policies to support institutions in addressing issues of discrimination in tenure, academic freedom and faculty codes of conduct.
This release builds on ADL's broader body of work examining antisemitism in higher education, including its annual Campus Antisemitism Report Card and its recent report on antisemitism within professional academic associations. ADL is ready to partner with university administrators, faculty governance bodies and campus stakeholders to implement the guidance outlined in these resources.
The full report, faculty networks investigation and guidance documents are available on the ADL website.
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913 to protect the Jewish people, ADL works to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all. In the face of rising antisemitism and extremism, we protect, advocate, and educate, through a mix of programs and services using the latest innovations and technology, and seek to create a world without hate. More at www.adl.org.