As students start returning to campuses with expected continuation of anti-Israel protests, JLens unpacks the demands and consequences of divestment campaigns.
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Hillel International, the premier Jewish on-campus organization that supports Jewish life at hundreds of colleges across the United States and abroad, has been one of the most frequent targets of anti-Israel activists and other antisemites in recent months, totaling more than a hundred incidents in the U.S. since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Jewish students and Hillel staff members have received threatening emails and phone calls; Hillel buildings have been vandalized and…
Antisemites across the political spectrum gathered in Somerset, KY on June 30, 2024 for a “JP” (Jewish Problem) Conference that promoted anti-Jewish hate.
As the “People’s Conference for Palestine” got underway in Detroit, MI on May 24, the packed audience cheered as Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) organizer and conference MC Mohammed Nabulsi opened by offering “salutations to our people in Palestine and to our noble, steadfast Resistance.” Nabulsi garnered further enthusiastic applause when he urged “eternal glory to our martyrs” and called to “liberate every inch of Palestine, from the Jordan…
Nakba Day commemorations across the United States, already charged events, were compounded this year by a sharp rise in anti-Israel activity tied to the Israel-Hamas war that was triggered by the October 7 mass terror attacks. Nakba Day (“catastrophe” in Arabic) is commemorated annually on May 15 by Palestinians and their supporters worldwide to mourn the events related to the creation of the State of Israel, including its impact on Palestinians, and to advocate for the…
IntroductionAs university encampments and other forms of student protests against Israel capture attention across the United States, protest organizers have made it clear that, on the majority of campuses, their goals go far beyond urging their universities to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war or to denounce Israeli government policies. The ADL Center on Extremism analyzed statements published by the organizers of more than 130 university encampments nationwide…
Explore films that highlight the richness of Jewish life by viewing the movie lists ADL's Media & Entertainment Institute developed with Common Sense Media.
Anti-Zionist student groups on more than 100 U.S. college and university campuses have established “encampments” in recent days to ostensibly protest Israel’s actions in Gaza and their academic institutions’ alleged “complicity” in those actions. College campuses have been the site of many tense anti-Israel protests and antisemitic incidents since the start of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack. These…
Friday, March 8, 2024, marked the annual commemoration of International Women’s Day. Over the weekend of March 8–10, anti-Israel activists nationwide used the occasion to celebrate female Palestinian terrorists, including glorifying individuals affiliated with recognized terrorist organizations and whose acts of anti-Israel violence have included bombings, plane hijackings and more. As previously noted by ADL, in the months since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on…
UPDATE: April 26, 2024 Explicit support for recognized terror groups and the glorification of prominent individuals affiliated with those groups continues to feature prominently at anti-Israel protests across the country. As documented by ADL, notable recent examples of this support for terror have surfaced at “Popular University for Gaza” campus encampments and Quds Day protests in April 2024 and at International Women’s Day protests in March 2024. There have been numerous…
Preliminary research by the ADL Center on Extremism (COE) shows Genesse Moreno, who opened fire at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, on February 11, 2024, before being killed by off-duty officers, expressed support for a range of antisemitic, anti-Zionist and extremist beliefs and praised U.S.-designated terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Moreno’s mother reportedly attended the church, but it is unclear why Moreno targeted Lakewood in the attack that…
In recent years, activists have harnessed the marketing power of digital billboard trucks to promote their messages. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, anti-Israel activists have increasingly used these vehicles, adorned with propaganda, to spread anti-Zionist and antisemitic themes, including a modern form of the blood libel: that Israelis harvest Palestinian organs. These trucks, bearing a variety of anti-Israel and antisemitic messages, are sponsored by U.S…
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), a non-profit organization founded by Robert Kraft, aired multiple advertisements during the Super Bowl on February 11, 2024, urging people to #StandUpToJewishHate. Notably, a new ad premiered during the game, featuring Dr. Clarence B. Jones, former advisor to and speech writer for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Although online reactions to the campaign were largely positive, many users on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to criticize the…
In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, and the start of the Israel-Hamas war, some anti-Israel activists have boldly expressed support for terrorism against the State of Israel and Jews, which at first manifested in explicitly supporting Hamas. More recently, these activists and leftist groups have also expressed admiration for another group they consider allies in the fight against U.S. imperialism and Zionism: the Houthis. The Houthis, an Iranian-regime backed U.S.-designated terrorist group…
Since the Hamas-led terror massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaigns directly targeting “Zionist” institutions, businesses or individuals, have persisted in response to Israel’s operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. BDS is a component of a long history of campaigns and efforts to delegitimize and isolate Israel. In recent years, this has explicitly focused on the rejection, isolation and marginalization of …
Hundreds of organizations from across the country marched in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The official published demands of the protest included ceasefire to the Hamas-Israel war, an end of the “siege of Gaza” and the termination of all U.S. aid to Israel. Yet attendees, who numbered in the tens of thousands, went much further and leaned into rhetoric supporting the October 7 Hamas massacre and other acts of terror targeting Israel, calls for the end of Israel,…
The Jewish community faced unthinkable tragedy on October 7th, when the terrorist group Hamas committed mass atrocities against thousands of Israelis, including murder, torture, dismemberment and rape. As the global Jewish community mourns our collective trauma, one could imagine a world in which Jewish students were comforted on campus with supportive words, candlelight vigils, and an understanding community mobilizing to support their needs. Instead, increasing numbers of Jewish students…
On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, students at more than 100 U.S. college campuses staged walkouts demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel and that their institutions divest from weapons companies allegedly involved with Israel. The walkouts, prompted by Israel’s military response to Hamas’s October 7 massacre, were organized primarily by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters and several other student groups. Some events included language that both explicitly and implicitly…
Learn more about how ADL addressed antisemitism on the ground in Georgia.
Read more about why ADL urges states to adopt “State Strategies to Counter Antisemitism” using National Strategy as a guide.