College Campuses Are Actually Becoming More Pro-Israel, Study Says
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
NEW YORK (JTA) — Anti-Israel activism on college campuses across the country has declined, according to a new report by a campus pro-Israel organization.
The report by the Israel on Campus Coalition published Monday shows that there were nearly three times as many total pro-Israel events on campus as anti-Israel events during the past school term.
According to the report, there were more than 3,100 pro-Israel events in 2016-17 and about 1,100 anti-Israel events. And 149 campuses experienced anti-Israel activity last year compared to 185 two years ago.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel also saw falling activity, with 20 BDS campaigns nationwide on college campuses last year compared to 33 the year before. And only one of those campuses saw a recurring BDS campaign, as opposed to eight the year before.
Israel Apartheid Week, a weeklong series of events opposing Israel, declined for a second straight year, to 45 last year from 83 in 2014-15. By contrast, there were five more pro-Israel weeks in 2016-17 than there were the year before. And there were about 300 anti-Israel speakers last year, compared to about 500 two years ago.
Still, the report said that while these actions were declining, the anti-Israel movement was becoming more sophisticated and enlisting the help of outside organizations.
The report named American Muslims for Palestine, American Friends Service Committee, Palestine Legal, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace as external organizations providing support to student activists.
Image by Kurt Hoffman
For more information about Jewish life on campus, access the Forward College Guide by clicking here.
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