Director's Letter
April 18, 2024
Dear Friends,
Over a year ago, my CMJS colleague, Graham Wright and I began developing a new course on contemporary antisemitism for Brandeis University undergraduates. At the time, we had no idea how relevant this topic would become. Now, as we talk with our students about the latest headlines, we (and they) have been repeatedly struck by how frequently questions about antisemitism on campus—how much there is, how to define it, and what to do about it—have been debated without reference to reliable data, or sometimes any data at all.
Since October 7, 2023, CMJS has been engaged in a systematic program of research aimed at providing data that can help inform these critical debates, by exploring how college students think about antisemitism in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Today, we are releasing the second report based on data collected from nearly 2,200 US Jewish undergraduates in November and December 2023. Drawing the Line: How US Jewish College Think about Antisemitism examines how Jewish college students view key phrases that have been part of campus anti-Israel protests. We found that, even in the intense period soon after October 7, Jewish college students had relatively nuanced views about what constituted antisemitism. For example, although the vast majority of respondents felt that the phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” crossed the line into antisemitism, most did not consider the claim that Israel was guilty of violating the human rights of the Palestinian people to be antisemitic.
We are also releasing two additional reports that assess the impact of Birthright Israel programs on young adults. The findings demonstrate that Birthright Israel’s classic ten-day trip, as well as its internship and fellowship program (Onward), are instrumental in connecting Jewish young adults to Israel and increasing their engagement with Jewish life on many measures. We found that, after October 7, even young Jews who did not participate in Birthright became more connected to Israel. An even larger increase was evident for those who participated in a ten-day Birthright trip and, for those who participated in Onward, the increase was larger still.
Finally, we continue with our program of local Jewish community studies. We have just released the 2022-23 Washtenaw County Area Jewish Community Study and the 2024 Jewish Population Study of Northeastern Pennsylvania. If you are interested in joining our newsletter for Jewish community studies, please indicate that box on the newsletter signup page.
Wishing you a peaceful and joyous Passover.
Chag same’ach,
Leonard Saxe, PhD
Klutznick Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies and Social Policy
Director, Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University