If you believe the headlines, the recent eruption of anti-Israel activism at Yale is just a visceral reaction to current events— either to the conflict in Gaza or a controversial Israeli speaker near campus. But for Jewish students on the ground, that’s not just inaccurate — it’s insulting.
Yale’s lack of national scrutiny compared to other schools has only allowed antisemitism to fester.
This hostility is the result of years of unchecked rhetoric, institutional complacency, and an activist culture that has made antisemitism increasingly acceptable under the guise of social justice. For Jewish students, the question isn’t whether Yale has a problem. It’s how much longer they’re expected to endure it.
The past month tells the story clearly.
On March 28, Yale Law School fired associate research scholar Helyeh Doutaghi after it was revealed that she was affiliated with Samidoun — an organization linked to the PFLP — and had praised Hezbollah and Hamas.
Days later, on April 6, a visibly Jewish student was physically blocked from crossing campus by protesters. Yale said nothing.
The next day, the Yale College Council passed a resolution shielding masked protesters from disciplinary consequences and offering legal aid. Later, over 200 protesters repeated the genocidal chant, “From the river to the sea” near the president’s inauguration, while shouting “Face us.”
On April 8, less than a year after condemning Yalies4Palestine for supporting Hamas’s October 7 massacre, Yale’s Slifka Center turned around and hosted a student thesis titled “Reports on Israeli Apartheid” in its chapel—promoting the same false accusation Yalies4Palestine had used to justify Hamas.
By April 15, activists retaliated against Yale’s adoption of the IHRA antisemitism definition by plastering anti-Israel signs, likely because it flags Holocaust Inversion (comparing Israelis with Nazis) and explains why antizionism is bigotry.
On April 17, they were back on the quad chanting against IHRA as prospective families toured campus. That same day, a Jewish student reported being cursed at by American Studies professor, James Berger — a telling sign of faculty complicity.
Then came April 18, when Yale’s MENA Center co-sponsored a film screening of the anti-Israel film, “Encampments,” with Yalies4Palestine.
On April 22, the eve of Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance day- Yalies4Palestine held a “vigil for martyrs” on the quad, without distinction between civilian and terrorist deaths. The next day, they erected an encampment in Beinecke Plaza. Jewish students crossing campus were blocked and called “scum.” Protesters shouted “How many kids did you kill today?” and one hurled a water bottle at an Israeli speaker. No distinction was made between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Jews.
And this year wasn’t out of the norm. In 2024, protestors chanted “Intifada, revolution,” displayed vile cartoons and glorified a Palestinian terrorist.
That same year, a Jewish student was stabbed in the eye with a flagpole.
In 2023, two days after Hamas’s October invasion, anti-Israel activists published an endorsement of the Palestinian mass murder of Jews.
And through it all, Yale’s administrators, faculty, and students largely stood by. Even the Hillel Slifka Center, meant to protect Jewish life, failed them.
According to CAMERA, Slifka staff allegedly pressured students to delete videos documenting harassment and stood by while extremists took over their communal spaces.
Now, after federal scrutiny under Title VI, Yale has finally acted: revoking Yalies4Palestine’s recognition, initiating disciplinary measures, issuing long-overdue statements.
But these reactive steps raise a deeper question: is it already too late?
Some faculty still refuse to face reality. In a recent Yale Daily News op-ed, Humanities Professors Greta LaFleur and Catherine Nicholson defended the April encampment as a peaceful protest unjustly punished. They framed the demonstration that blocked access, hurled slurs, and glorified terrorism as a noble act. Their essay doesn’t defend free speech — it defends impunity. It’s a staggering inversion of moral clarity, emblematic of a faculty culture more interested in ideological posturing than in teaching or protecting Jewish students’ rights and safety.
Yale’s recent decision to revoke Yalies4Palestine’s recognition, initiate disciplinary proceedings, and issue public statements condemning antisemitism are important and overdue steps. But if Yale truly wants to rebuild trust, these actions must mark the beginning, not the end, of accountability.
The university must commit to a sustained, public course correction:
- The administration should issue a standing public statement reaffirming that antisemitic harassment — including antizionist harassment — is unacceptable.
- Yale should create an investigation timeline for complaints against faculty, share clear disciplinary protocols, and set up an independent faculty review board that includes Jewish representation.
- Publish a protest handbook with clear rules and consequences.
- Deploy staff to monitor protests and stop harassment.
- Develop annual antisemitism and bias training co-designed with Jewish campus groups and external experts.
- establish a confidential reporting mechanism specifically for antisemitism.
- Appoint a Jewish life coordinator independent of Slifka, reporting to the administration.
These are not radical demands. They are the bare minimum to restore safety, fairness, and dignity. This doesn’t suppress speech; bigots are free to spew their views — until they trample others’ rights. This only helps ensure Jewish students can thrive without fear.
If Yale, with all its prestige, refuses these protections, the question isn’t how to fix it — it’s whether Jewish students should stay at all.
A slightly edited version of this article was originally published in the Jewish News Syndicate.
