Colleges reporting surges in attacks on Jewish, Muslim students as war rages on

American colleges have reported a surge in crimes that appeared to target Jewish and Muslim people this week as the war between Israel and Hamas continues into its fourth week.

Several colleges, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Upstate New York, have seen antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents that prompted politicians and civil rights organizations to speak out about students feeling vulnerable on campuses.

“Let me be clear: we cannot allow hate and intimidation to become normalized,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Tuesday after a Cornell University student was accused of making antisemitic threats at the Ithaca, New York, campus. “As Governor, I reaffirm that there is zero tolerance in New York for antisemitism, Islamophobia, or hate of any kind, and it’s critical we deploy every possible state resource to keep New Yorkers safe.”

Live updates:Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in DC as Israel bombs Gaza

High-profile incidents under investigation at American universities

The targeted threats being investigated by officials at campuses around the country include the following.

• St. John’s University: The university is investigating an incident where a person allegedly placed a flyer of one of the hostages being held by Hamas outside of St. John’s University’s Muslim Prayer Room, the Torch, St. John’s University’s student-run paper, reported on Saturday. St. John’s University spokesperson Brian Browne confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY Saturday an investigation is underway on the incident at the Queens, New York, campus. So far the university has not reached out to local police about the incident. The administration has encouraged students to report other bias incidents online. 
• Cornell University: Patrick Dai, a 21-year-old college student, was being held without bond earlier this week after police and the university accused him of posting threats to kill, injure and rape Jewish students on a Greek life forum. According to court documents, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Dai with using interstate communications to make threats. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release. Dai’s being held at the Broome County Jail and has a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 15.
• Stanford University: On Friday afternoon, Arab Muslim student Abdulwahab Omira was hit by a vehicle while walking in a reported hit-and-run on the Palo Alto, California campus, the Stanford Daily student newspaper first reported. After striking the victim, the driver of a black Toyota 4Runner, described by the victim as a white male in his 20s, is said to have yelled obscenities before driving away, a campus public safety alert said on Saturday. In a campus message Friday, University President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez wrote that the California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. CHP Officer Andrew Barclay told USA TODAY the state agency is in contact with campus police investigating the crime. The student received care for non-life-threatening injuries, the university said. On Sunday, Omira released a statement from his hospital bed calling for love and compassion, CNN reported. Omira said the suspect had previously expressed hostility toward the Muslim community.
• Millersville University: A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man reportedly drew two swastikas last Sunday on the elevator and sidewalk at a Millersville University residence hall in Lancaster, Pennslyvania, the news outlet Lancaster Online reported. The suspect, Ethan Rosencrans, is not a student at the university, according to news reports. Rosencrans is charged with felony vandalism, state court records showed.
• University of North Carolina: Posts were shared on social media about a possible assault of a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Muslim student on Oct. 31, The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s student-run paper, reported. A watch commander at Chapel Hill Police told USA TODAY Saturday that Chief Celisa Lehew has information on the incident but wouldn’t be in the office and available to answer questions until Monday. The commander declined to share with USA TODAY previously emailed news statements the department sent to other media about the incident. Lehew previously said in a Nov. 1 statement on the town’s website that attacks like the one described on social media must not be tolerated in Chapel Hill and urged people with information to reach out to police. UNC’s Muslim Students Association posted on Instagram, warning hijabis and other Muslim students to avoid the area. They identified the victim in the attack as a female student who “is safe” and cooperating with police. 

Tense debates:Israel-Hamas war stirs free-speech battles at college campuses across US

Jewish, Muslim organizations denounce attacks against college students

Nonprofit and activist organizations for Jewish and Muslim students have condemned the attacks, harassment and intimidation of students since the conflict broke out on Oct. 7. 

The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Maryland office said in an Oct. 11 statement the organization is concerned about Muslim and Arab students reporting more harassment and intimidation incidents as the crisis overseas continues. The organization pleaded with college and high school administrators to devote attention and take action to protect these students and investigate all reports of targeted attacks or threats. 

“In this politically-charged environment, many Muslim and Arab students feel increasingly vulnerable and targeted because of their diverse identities,” said CAIR’s Maryland director Zainab Chaudry.

The Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights organization focused on addressing acts of hate and antisemitism, issued a statement on Oct. 25 with the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, urging universities to investigate their chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine to see whether they are possibly supporting a terrorist organization.

“If universities do not check the activities of their SJP chapters, they may be violating their Jewish students’ legal rights to be free of harassment and discrimination on campus,” the statement read. 

National Students for Justice in Palestine previously told USA TODAY in an Oct. 18 statement it is troubled by how the ADL has labeled its organization and student chapters. They added the league is “pro-Israel before anything else” and linked part of the statement to a 2019 opinion piece by the magazine Jewish Current on the ADL.

“As for the ADL labeling our organization antisemitic: they have zero credibility to decide what is and isn't antisemitic,” National Students for Justice in Palestine said. “ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt has claimed that anti-Zionism – opposition to Zionism, a political project of the late 19th century – is equivalent to antisemitism.”

The American Civil Liberties Union responded to the ADL’s letter, sending a similar letter to hundreds of colleges and universities, urging leaders to reject calls to investigate pro-Palestine student groups “for exercising their free speech rights.”