The overwhelming majority of college students hide their identity on campus, according to a joint study by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and World Union of Jewish Students that was released on Tuesday.
The survey found that 78% of Jewish students across the globe felt the need to hide their identity. An even larger percentage of participants from across the globe, 81%, hid their Zionist identities.
ADL's Vice President for International Affairs, Marina Rosenberg, explained that many of the students do so to feel safe on their college campuses.
34% respondents knew Jewish students who were physically threatened, and 19% knew Jewish students who were physically assaulted for their identities.
“When more than three-quarters of Jewish students feel they must conceal their religious and Zionist identities for their safety, this is an extremely serious situation," Rosenberg said.
Students felt 'hunted'
One of the surveyed students, Victoria B., who studies at the University of Vienna, shared her experience.
Victoria recounted that a pro-Hamas “intifada camp” had been established on campus, leaving her and other Jewish students feeling threatened with “rumors that camp participants were going to hunt for ‘Zionists’ on campus.”
“I felt like we were back in the 1930s, with Jewish students being persecuted at universities," she told the ADL.
Requests for religious accommodations from Jewish students were denied or partially denied on average 30% of the time. The denial rate in European institutions was 44%, more than double the 20% denial rate reported in the rest of the world.
The joint study surveyed 1,727 Jewish students from 60 countries. ADL studies conducted in the United States yielded similar results. The more diverse demographic of this study demonstrates the global scale and severity of campus antisemitism.
Rosenberg stated that while the results “reveal a horrifying reality, they also offer critical insights for university administrations to address this crisis head-on.”