Research & Analysis

Graduating seniors work hard to reach this milestone: commencement season. They deserve to celebrate and be recognized for their accomplishments. Their colleges and universities owe it to them to prepare for these events and ensure that anti-Israel agitators do not ruin the moment for everyone. If you are concerned about commencement being disrupted, here’s what to do. What to do now, in advance of commencement:Contact your college or university now with your concerns and share the…

Anti-Israel protestors on university campuses across the U.S. are calling for their schools to divest holdings from companies they say do business with Israel and/or are “complicit” with Israel’s response against Hamas in Gaza. Protestors are also demanding their universities end partnerships and joint programs with Israeli universities. In some cases, they are calling for universities to boycott and sever ties with Jewish community organizations, such as Hillel. What is BDS…

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…

By Kenneth Jacobson, Deputy National Director As the years pass and a country moves from its younger period to adulthood, there naturally is a waning of the spirit that motivated its residents to establish the state in the first place. So was the case in Israel as it moved over the years from an economically needy entity to a sophisticated, high-tech nation. National spirit as reflected in Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations remained fairly high, but along with it came a complacency about the…

Good morning and welcome to the fifth issue of the Campus Crisis Daily. Thanks to readers for sending in photos and information about campuses you are following. If you have a tip or a first-person account, send it to: campus@adl.org. Top StoriesColumbiaAs we reported in yesterday’s newsletter, Columbia University canceled its university-wide commencement ceremony, following the anti-Israel protests that disrupted campus the last few weeks. In a statement Monday, Columbia shared that its…

Welcome to the second week of the Campus Crisis Update. Commencement season officially started this weekend with graduation ceremonies at the University of Michigan, Indiana University, and others, and we will be following those closely. Also, today is Yom HaShoah, the day of remembrance for the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. There is a lot we can say, but we will keep it to something ADL believes deeply: Never Again is Now. Top StoriesUCLALast week, as UCLA was rocked by anti…

Welcome to the third issue of the Campus Crisis Update. This email features firsthand accounts from campuses, photos and videos direct from the protests, links so you can make your voice heard and resources so you know what to do if your alma mater comes calling for a donation or a student you know is being harassed. Top StoriesUMassYesterday, ADL and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced that they submitted a formal complaint against the University of Massachusetts…

Welcome to the second issue of the Campus Crisis Update.   This email features firsthand accounts from campuses, photos and videos direct from the protests, links so you can make your voice heard and resources so you know what to do if your alma mater comes calling for a donation or a student you know is being harassed. Top StoriesUCLAThroughout Wednesday and into the evening, protesters swarmed into UCLA’s encampment. After repeated orders to disperse, LAPD and other law…

Welcome to the first issue of ADL’s Campus Crisis Email Update. So much is happening so quickly we know it’s hard to keep up – and it’s hard to know how and when to act. We are going to feature firsthand accounts from campuses, photos and videos direct from the protests, links so you can make your voice heard, and resources so you know what to do if your alma mater comes calling for a donation or a student you know is being harassed. We are building this as we go &ndash…

The death of Saleh Al-Arouri, a leading Hamas financier and military leader on January 2, 2024, resulted in threats of retribution against Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah and other regional proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Similar to the killing of Qassim Soleimani, the head of Quds Force, in 2020 in Baghdad, and the killing of Seyed Razi Mousavi, a senior adviser of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF), in 2022 in Syria, Al-Arouri's death led to vitriol and…