Jewish campus life at a ‘crossing point’ as students weigh antisemitism risks, new report shows
EXCLUSIVE — The difference between a hostile and a supportive campus for Jewish students may come down to how administrators act when tensions rise, according to a new report.
Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) released its 2025-26 Campus Climate Brief in which it names the 10 most concerning and 10 most supportive campuses for Jewish students, along with a few "honorable mentions" in both categories.
"The schools that get it right understand their role and understand that they have an obligation to support all students, including Jewish students and Zionist students," ACF Executive Director Avi Gordon told Fox News Digital. "And I think those schools are flourishing, they’re welcoming, and it’s a place that’s desirable for certainly within the Jewish and pro-Israel community."
To evaluate each of the schools profiled in the report, ACF used five criteria: incident records, the institution's response to antisemitism, anti-Israel organizing, Jewish life on campus and an evaluation of the legal and structural environment. The report found 14 concerning campuses and 17 strong campuses across 17 states.
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The 10 most concerning campuses in the report are Middlebury College, The New School, DePaul University, Smith College, Sarah Lawrence College, San Francisco State University (SFSU), University of Texas at Dallas, University of California, Berkeley, Oberlin College and George Mason University. Alums for Campus Fairness also gave "honorable mentions" to the City University of New York System, University of Washington, Occidental College and Pitzer College.
ACF profiled each of the schools, detailing antisemitic incidents, institutional responses — or lack thereof — and anti-Israel organizing, among other factors. For Middlebury College, ACF cited the university's Hillel chapter renaming itself "The Jewish Association at Middlebury," after "an attempted disaffiliation from Hillel international."
"Whatever the internal politics, the fact that national Hillel affiliation is contested at all reflects how thoroughly anti-Zionist sentiment has penetrated the campus's Jewish institutional life," ACF's report read.
According to the report, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at the New School advertised a "Vigil for Martyr Yahya Sinwar," referring to the deceased leader of Hamas. ACF noted that the group continued to promote the event even after Meta removed the original post.
At UC Berkeley, "wanted" posters targeting Jewish UC regents appeared in September 2025. Then, in November 2025, "Kill all Zionists" was spray-pained in Berkeley graduate housing. The report also noted that UC Berkeley was sued by the Justice Department in February 2026 for maintaining "an antisemitic hostile work environment."
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SFSU was included on ACF's list of most concerning campuses because of what the organization described as a broader anti-Zionist culture embedded in the university. The report cited the hosting of Mahmoud Khalil by the university's Race and Resistance Studies department and the General Union of Palestine Students.
However, SFSU disputed ACF's characterization, with Director of Communications Bobby King telling Fox News Digital via email that "SFSU has made combatting antisemitism a University priority."
King pointed to SFSU's 2022 partnership with SF Hillel, Hillel International and the Academic Engagement Network "to implement a program developed by the latter two organizations designed to combat antisemitism on college campuses."
In a recent JWeekly article, Roger Feigelson, executive director of the San Francisco Hillel that serves SFSU, called the university "a role model for how to fight antisemitism on college campuses."
Gordon said that the leadership at campuses on ACF's "most concerning" list should "address the Jewish community and need to work together with the Jewish community."
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ACF also evaluated 10 of the strongest campuses for Jewish students, which included Tulane University, University of Florida, Vanderbilt University, University of Miami, Brandeis University, Indiana University, Arizona State University, Binghamton University, Dartmouth College and University of Southern California. It also gave "honorable mentions" to Washington University in St. Louis, Emory University, University of Georgia, University of Central Florida, Boston University, University of Arizona and Yeshiva University.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, the University of Southern California (USC) said that the designation reflected "the concrete steps USC has taken to support our Jewish community."
"At USC, we want every student — of every background, faith, and perspective — to know they are welcome and valued. We are proud that Alums for Campus Fairness has ranked USC among the top ten campuses for Jewish students, and the only California university on the list," the statement read.
Gordon, a graduate of Binghamton University, said that something his alma mater gets right is its relationship with Jewish institutions. The ACF report notes that Binghamton has weekly meetings involving administrators and representatives from Hillel and Chabad.
ACF calls Binghamton "the campus where BDS went backwards," noting that while a boycott, divestment and sanctions resolution passed in April 2024, it was rescinded months later in October 2024. Additionally, in January 2025, the Student Assembly Congress posted a statement condemning divestment from Israel.
The ACF executive director also pointed to Vanderbilt University as a "great example" of a school that is getting it right. In ACF's report, it is noted that Vanderbilt did not have any recorded antisemitic incidents in the 2025-26 academic year. Additionally, it praised the university for its swift action in February 2026 after a mathematics lecturer was reported for embedding anti-Israel content in course materials.
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Gordon told Fox News Digital that ACF is not looking for censorship, noting that the free exchange of ideas is still a vital part of the college experience. However, he said the issue arises when Jewish students experience intimidation, vandalism and bigotry.
When asked about what the report means as a whole, Gordon said it shows that Jewish life on American campuses is at a crucial moment.
"I think Jewish life on campus is at a kind of crossing point. I think that Jewish students are becoming way more acutely aware of what the risks are when deciding to apply to a university and what risks they're willing to take or not," Gordon told Fox News Digital.
"I think these schools must understand kind of the reality of the students on the ground, the reality of potential students as well, and the role that alumni have to play in kind of sharing those views with the administration as well," he added. "You know, alumni have a seat at the table, and we want to be able to help them understand what's going on campus in a more fine, granular way."
Fox News Digital reached out to all institutions mentioned in Alums for Campus Fairness' report for comment but did not immediately recieve responses. Occidental College and University of Central Florida declined to comment.