College campus (illustrative)
College campus (illustrative)iStock

A new poll has found that over 65 percent of American Jewish college students report feeling unsafe on campus, with half going as far as hiding their Jewish identity.

Those responding that they have hidden their Jewish faith say that the impetus was to avoid physical or verbal attacks as anti-Israel and anti-Zionist organizations become increasingly aggressive in their campaigns and messaging against Israel and pro-Israel students, found the study by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

As incidents of anti-Semitism on university campuses soar to record levels, the survey was the first ever to question Jewish university students about the anti-Semitism they are facing.

"Students are feeling unsafe and, as a result, are learning that to avoid anti-Semitism they must view their religion as something to hide, not celebrate," the advocacy organization said in a statement regarding their findings.

"In fact, the survey indicates that the longer students stay on campus, the less safe they feel and the more they feel the need to hide their identity."

The study surveyed 1,027 members of Alpha Epsilon Phi, the country’s main Jewish fraternity.

Nearly 70 percent of those polled "personally experienced or were familiar with an anti-Semitic attack in the past 120 days."

The survey concluded that the “college experience is being undermined by anti-Semitism.”

“Students are experiencing both traditional anti-Semitism in the form of traditional anti-Semitic tropes and a newer form of anti-Semitism as it relates to Israel,” they found.

Noting the significance that the “anti-Zionism and anti-Israelism reported in this survey was experienced before the recent Israel-Gaza hostilities,” they stressed that “had the survey taken place in May instead of April, the number of anti-Semitic incidents relating to Israel would have been higher and the percentage of students expressing fear of being targeted would have been greater than reflected in the survey.”

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Sukkot in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)