Dealing with Anti-Semitism on College Campuses

Noah Genatossio studied political science at the University of Washington, where he also served as the president of Washington Students for Israel. In August 2016, Noah Genatossio was featured in an article by Jewish in Seattle Magazine, where he discussed growing anti-Semitism on US college campuses.

In June 2016, prior to the article’s publication, the Anti-Defamation League reported a close to 100 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in US college campuses. These were 10 percent of anti-Semitic incidents in the country. The report attributed the rise to condemnation of Israel by activist movements like Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) as well as Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER).

According to Genatossio, the problem was made worse by a refusal by groups like SUPER to engage in dialogue with people of different views. This alienation of students in the pro-Israel community made them feel uncomfortable, creating tension where dialogue would have birthed a better outcome.

The article gave tips to students on handling anti-Semitism on campus. It urged them to distinguish between bigotry and ignorance (identify where someone’s antipathy simply arose from missing the facts) and to separate legitimate criticism from de-legitimization (identify legitimate criticism versus a denial of Jewish people’s right to self-determination). It also urged them to reach out to counselors and Jewish community institutions, work with people motivated to countering anti-Semitic bias, and document cases of anti-Semitism, in case evidence is needed to present to school leadership.