The New School earns failing grade from nonprofit for alleged failure to curb antisemitism

An anti-hate advocacy group released on Monday a new report showing the most anti-Jewish colleges in the nation, with a well-attended Manhattan-based school taking a top slot on the list.

The nonprofit watchdog group StopAntisemitism gave The New School in Greenwich Village an “F” on its 2024 Antisemitism on College and University Campuses Report Card. The failing grade stems from what the organization believes is the staff’s enabling of “antisemitic radicals” and failure to address hate-driven behavior on campus.

The report evaluated 25 schools around the country throughout August.

Multiple student interviews about antisemitism fueled the “F” grade. According to the report, 75% of The New School students said that they had experienced antisemitism, and only half of Jewish students felt safe expressing their religious identity on campus.

The school, which has on its website that it aims to foster “a more fair and equitable world,” is accused in the annual report of not providing a safe environment for Jewish students in the wake of increased antisemitic violence and bias since the Israel – Hamas war started in the Middle East on Oct. 7, 2023.

amNewYork Metro reached out to The New School for comment and is awaiting a response.

Students and faculty at The New School staged an occupation protest against the Israel-Hamas war in May 2024.

But Jewish students are not alone in feeling discrimination at local higher-learning institutions. The StopAntisemitism report came after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group, designated another NYC-based school, New York University (NYU), an “institution of particular concern” in October.

Per leaders at CAIR, the world-famous school used “draconian measures to silence” pro-Palestinian voices.

Both The New School and NYU, along with other NYC universities this year, saw campus unrest highlighted by days of student encampments — sometimes marked by verbal or violent conflict between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel advocates.

Despite the unrest at both schools, Columbia University in Washington Heights experienced arguably the most campus conflict in NYC this year. Pro-Palestine protests rocked the Ivy League school for weeks in the spring, resulting in damaged property, vandalism and mass trespassing.

Antisemitic hate crimes in NYC; national trends

Meanwhile, hate crimes against Jewish people across NYC have sparked dramatically since the start of the war in Gaza, though there has recently been a dip in incidents.

According to the latest NYPD crime numbers , antisemitic hate crimes decreased by 40% this month compared to October 2023, when Hamas terrorists initiated the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis by brutalizing Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and holding captive 254 others.

StopAntisemitism uncovered other alarming findings through its survey. More than half of the Jewish students from the surveyed colleges and universities across the country had personally been victims of antisemitism on campus.

A shocking 72% of respondents said they felt unwelcome in certain spaces on campus because they are Jewish. More than 43% said they hid their Jewish identity on campus and from fellow classmates.

How StopAntisemitism conducted the survey

StopAntisemitism, an organization founded in 2018, sent questionnaires to 25 schools asking about their policies on antisemitism and related topics. Only two of the schools took the survey, but the advocacy group said it still gathered information from all of the schools surveyed by reaching out to university administrators, leaders of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and interviewing students.

The New School was one of the schools that did not take the initial survey, according to the organization.

“Every year, we evaluate 25 new schools, and the findings remain unfortunately consistent. Institutions like Columbia, and many Ivy League and Ivy-adjacent schools, continue to fail their Jewish students,” said Liora Rez, founder and executive director of StopAntisemitism. “Administrations across the country have made zero meaningful efforts to ensure Jewish students feel safe expressing their identity. This is not an isolated issue. It’s a systemic failure of leadership.”

According to the report, additional results showed that there is not enough support for Jewish students at The New School.

For example, Students for Justice in Palestine, an organization that many say defends the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel last year, has a chapter on campus. Yet, at the same time, there is no Jewish affinity group supported by DEI efforts at the school.

“The New School has utterly failed to protect its Jewish students, allowing harassment, exclusion, and violent antisemitism to thrive unchecked,” REz added. “Despite reports of discrimination, death threats, and open hostility, the administration has taken little to no meaningful action, abandoning Jewish students in their time of need.”

According to its website, The New School’s Office of Equity and Belonging recognized Jewish American Heritage Month and Holocaust Memorial Day in May.

How do other schools compare?

Researchers at StopAntisemitism found that 87% of students surveyed at The New School said they did not feel safeguarded by the campus staff. The alarming statistic stands in stark contrast to the University of Mississippi’s “A” grade, given in part for the southern school’s immediate response to halting multiple anti-Israel protests within an hour.

StopAntisemitism gave nearby Hofstra University in Long Island a “C” grade in the report. Although only 75% of students feel protected by school officials, the campus has a unique Jewish affinity group supported by DEI that prompted StopAntisemitism to give it a passing grade.

“This negligence not only endangers Jewish students but also sets a dangerous precedent for intolerance on campus,” Rez said. ” Parents, do not fund this complicity with your tuition dollars. Choose institutions that prioritize the safety and inclusion of all students. Jewish students deserve better.”