In 2024 and early 2025, Ivy League schools faced severe scrutiny and multiple failing grades regarding their handling of on-campus antisemitism following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Major institutions, including Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania, were heavily criticized for failing to protect Jewish students from harassment and for their response to protests.
Key Developments and Incidents
- Failing Grades: A 2025 "report card" by Stop Antisemitism gave failing grades to multiple Ivy League institutions, including Brown, Columbia, Harvard, and UPenn.
- Congressional Hearings: Presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn faced intense backlash in late 2023 and 2024 for their testimony regarding whether calls for "Jewish genocide" violated school policies.
- Protests and Incidents: Columbia University saw significant unrest, including the occupation of buildings and antisemitic incidents, resulting in a $220 million lawsuit settlement.
- Federal Investigations & Funding: The U.S. Department of Education and the Justice Department launched investigations into several schools. By early 2025, the Trump administration threatened to revoke federal funding for institutions like Columbia and Harvard over their handling of antisemitism.
- Shift in Campus Life: Reports indicated a decline in the Jewish student population at some Ivy League schools (Harvard, Columbia, Yale) from 2015 to 2023, while 73% of surveyed students in 2024 reported hiding their Jewish identity on campus.
- Exceptions: While many Ivy schools struggled, Dartmouth College and Princeton were noted for holding inclusive gatherings and, in Dartmouth's case, taking swifter action against reported harassment.
Governmental and Legal Action
- Task Forces: Several universities, including Harvard and Columbia, established task forces to address the crisis.
- Policy Changes: Following federal pressure, some schools, such as Columbia, adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
- Civil Rights Investigations: As of March 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights listed multiple Ivy League schools among 60 universities under investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
