2024 is a scary time to be a Jewish college student.
Hillel International published that antisemitic incidents on university campuses have increased 700 percent following Oct. 7, while the Anti-Defamation League reported in November 2023 that 73 percent of the Jewish students surveyed had experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the beginning of the academic year.
It’s no coincidence that the proliferation of anti-Zionist rhetoric and propaganda glorifying the Hamas-led sexual violence and murder of approximately 1,200 Israeli civilians has risen as well.
But antisemitism isn’t new to UNC. Following a 2019 conference about "Conflict Over Gaza: People, Politics, and Possibilities" when a musical guest commented “I cannot be antisemitic alone” when inviting the crowd to sing along, a Title VI complaint to the U.S. Department of Education led to a resolution agreement that required UNC to be proactive against antisemitism.
This achieved little. In 2022, The Daily Tar Heel published — and later removed — a column titled “When Studying Abroad Becomes Political” that many students considered to be problematic. In April 2023, at least one swastika was found printed on a sheet of paper in Davis Library.
In December, another Title VI investigation was initiated, citing alleged antisemitic events that occurred following Oct. 7.
Antisemitism is rising in 2024. Recently, someone in a car pulled up alongside my visibly Jewish friend while he was walking down the street, rolled down the window and screamed at him from behind a mask, “You’re Jewish? Y’all killed Jesus!”
When Jewish students report antisemitic incidents through the appropriate channels, including UNC's Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office, we don't observe action taken to prevent these incidents from reoccurring. When we try to explain to our peers why we believe they are engaging in antisemitism, we are rebuffed.
Whether due to ignorance or malice, I believe there is a lack of knowledge regarding what antisemitism is on campus.
