Brandeis Study: Students for Justice in Palestine Fosters Hostile Campus Climate Toward Israel and Jews

This study looks at the hostility at different campuses and the ways in which it influences the lives of Jewish students.

11.3.2016 

 

News

 

 Mark Tapson 

 

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The Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University has just released an October 2016 study called "Hotspots of Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Sentiment on US Campuses," in which a handful of researchers came tothe conclusion, among others, that "one of the strongest predictors of perceiving a hostile climate toward Israel and Jews is the presence of an active Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group on campus."

"Based on findings from a 2016 survey of Jewish undergraduates at 50 US campuses," a summary of the report states, this study "looks at the particular manifestations of hostility at different campuses and the ways in which hostile climates influence the lives of Jewish students":

This report follows our 2015 study that found that a substantial portion of Jewish students reported having been exposed to antisemitism and hostility toward Israel on their campuses. Because the extent of the problem varied considerably across campuses, we attempted in this report to identify "hotspots," or campuses where antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment were especially acute.

Among the key findings:

• CUNY-Brooklyn, Northwestern, and many of the schools in the University of California system, are “hotspots” where the majority of Jewish students perceive a hostile environment toward Israel, and over one quarter perceive a general environment of hostility toward Jews on their campus. On these campuses it appears that the high rates of antisemitic harassment and hostility are largely driven by hostility toward Israel.
• At Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Illinois, hostility toward Jews and antisemitic harassment are relatively high but do not seem to be highly connected to criticism of Israel. At these schools, more traditional antisemitic stereotypes and tropes, rather than criticism of Israel’s politics, seem to be driving the perceived hostility toward Jews.
• There are many schools where antisemitism and hostility to Israel are negligible. Respondents at several large private universities, including U of Miami, Wash U, and Syracuse perceive very little hostility toward Israel, and virtually all of these respondents disagree that there is a hostile environment toward Jews.
• One of the strongest predictors of perceiving a hostile climate toward Israel and Jews is the presence of an active Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group on campus. [Emphasis added]

This confirms what the Horowitz Freedom Center has been insisting through its Stop the Jihad on Campus campaign: that SJP is a terror-supporting group which promotes Jew hatred on campus.

To learn more, watch the video above about Students for Justice in Palestine and click here at the group's profile on the Freedom Center's Discover the Networks website.