Jewish Life on Campus During the Israel-Hamas War - World Jewish Congress
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American University
Washington, D.C., USA

1,600 Undergraduate Jewish Students (20.9% of Campus)

1,000 Graduate Jewish Students (16.8% of Campus)

From the ground updates
Tamara Listenberg
Lauder Fellow
Founder, Students Supporting Israel at American University (SSI at AU)
What's Been Happening:

Antisemitism has long been an issue at American University, where Jewish students have experienced verbal harassment from classmates and professors. The situation has escalated to the point where the Department of Education has launched formal investigations into possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Unreported Incidents

All of our main incidents have caught attention on social media, including specific incidents at AU like chants of "from the river to the sea" and the defacing of an Israeli student's poster with swastikas and more. More so, several media outlets published and discussed the Brandeis complaint that was filed with the Department of Education in January, both through print and interviews conducted with our Jewish students.

Jewish Support Systems

The Students Supporting Israel (SSI) club serves as the primary source of support for Jewish students, although other students go to Chabad AU or Hillel as well. A lot of students report anti-Jewish incidents either directly to SSI or in the club WhatsApp group. To demonstrate our support for the Brown Jewish community, SSI has arranged numerous table events and campus activities.

Administrative Support

I personally reach out to the administration, and particularly the Vice President of Student Affairs, to keep him updated on what's happening on the ground and to report any inappropriate behavior from Students for Justice in Palestine and other groups or individuals on campus. He has been very supportive, and we have seen direct policy implementation as a result of these meetings.


I have also been keeping other university stakeholders and community members updated through various channels. Overall, the administration and board of trustees have worked and continue to work towards including Jewish and Israeli students in campus spaces, events, and clubs.

WJC's Resources

In the fall semester especially, WJC has been helpful with promoting incidents that took place on AU's campus on different social media platforms, which gained a lot of attention and helped our fight against antisemitism. In the spring semester, WJC supported us with Shabbat in Israel sponsorship, which helped us get the SSI community together for Friday night dinner at our local Chabad house, which also included non-Jewish students who learned more about our community.

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