DEI is ‘primary vehicle’ for antisemitism, watchdog warns

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has become a “primary vehicle” for antisemitism in American academia, according to a watchdog group that released a report finding 58% of Jewish students reported experiencing antisemitism on campus, yet only 12% felt the incidents were properly investigated. 

StopAntisemitism, a watchdog group dedicated to documenting violent incidents and hostile acts against Jews, evaluated 90 academic institutions as part of its “2025 Antisemitism on U.S. College & University Campuses” report. 

“Even since the recent Gaza ceasefire agreement, antisemitism remains loud, bold, and
unchecked, revealing that none of this is about Israel but instead it is about Jew-hatred,
plain and simple,” the report declared. “Coordinated protests, ideological harassment, and institutional apathy continue to endanger Jewish students.”

According to a nationwide survey of Jewish students enrolled at these schools, 39% hid their Jewish identity, and 62% said they were directly blamed for Israel’s actions. Sixty-five percent of Jewish students reported that they felt unwelcome in certain spaces on campus, and 39% felt DEI initiatives included Jews. 

“These findings confirm the harsh reality that Jewish students are being marginalized in institutions that claim to champion diversity and inclusion but instead amplify division and exclusion,” the report stated. “Their safety and dignity are treated as negotiable and often dismissed entirely.”

DEI offices tasked with protecting minority students “often serve as engines of anti-Jewish hostility,” the report stated. The watchdog group argued that DEI offices have excused harassment as “political speech” and excluded Jewish students from the protections offered to other minority groups.

The report added that DEI offices have “Indoctrinated students with ideological frameworks that demonize Israel and, by extension, Jewish identity, and empowered movements that openly call for the dismantling of the worldʼs only Jewish state.”

Regarding the survey, 58% of Jewish students also said they felt their schools failed to protect them after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Multiple protests against the Jewish State occurred on college campuses nationwide following the attacks and Israel’s military response in Gaza to eradicate Hamas. Some campus demonstrators reportedly glorified terrorism and targeted Jewish students.

The watchdog group’s report selected U.S. academic institutions to analyze based on “their scale, national relevance, incident volume, and student reported vulnerability.” 

Each of the schools received a letter grade from A to F, which reflected “incident volume and severity, administrative response quality, student-reported safety, presence of federal investigations, and evidence of accountability or neglect, providing a comprehensive and multi-layered assessment.”

Only 15 schools received an A, including Colorado State University and the University of Alabama. The report praised CSU, which established a Presidential Task Force on Jewish Inclusion in 2020, noting that the school continues to “condemn hate and stand with its students, despite antisemitic incidents related to the Israel-Hamas war.”

Columbia University, one of the major sites for anti-Israel protests after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, received an F. According to the report, Jewish students at Columbia “have faced repeated antisemitic incidents including vandalism, hate filled emails, and disruptions glorifying extremist violence.” 

Earlier this year, Columbia University agreed to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million in relation to the charges of antisemitism. 

Northwestern University, where anti-Israel demonstrators also set up an encampment and reportedly made Jewish students feel unsafe, also received an F. The report also stated that the resignations of President Michael Schill and Provost Kathleen Hagerty after the Trump administration froze the university’s funding “underscore serious lapses in institutional accountability.” 

The university also reached an agreement with the federal government by agreeing to pay $75 million as part of a settlement to resolve multiple investigations into campus antisemitism. 

The agreement followed the Trump administration freezing about $790 million in research funds to the school in April over alleged civil rights violations and reports of antisemitism. Despite agreeing to pay the settlement, Northwestern University denied any wrongdoing. 

StopAntisemitism’s 2025 report also included recommendations to help institutions protect Jewish students, urging schools to have “immediate condemnation of antisemitic acts” and “transparent investigation procedures.” 

In addition, the report encouraged schools to strengthen support systems for Jewish students by expanding funding, mentorship opportunities and advisory boards to help “cultivate a sense of community and resilience.” 

“The solution is not reform, DEI has failed too fully, too structurally, and too consistently, and must therefore be completely dismantled,” the watchdog group concluded. “Its ideological rigidity, selective morality, and entrenched double standards have helped fuel the worst wave of campus antisemitism in modern American history.” 

“If universities do not confront and uproot the systems that enable antisemitism, they will continue to fail their Jewish students–indeed all their students–and they will continue to betray their very reason for existing,” the group warned.