Faculty, staff driving antisemitism against professors on US campuses — survey

Faculty and staff — not just students — are key drivers of antisemitism faced by Jewish professors at US colleges and universities, according to a new survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Academic Engagement Network (AEN).

The report, based on responses from more than 200 Jewish-identifying faculty during spring 2025, documented smear campaigns, boycotts and even doxxing efforts carried out by colleagues and administrators. In some cases, these actions led to professional repercussions and concerns for personal safety.

The study of faculty and staff members mirrors the findings of similar surveys of US college students since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023. In February, the ADL and Hillel International reported that 83 percent of Jewish American college students have experienced or witnessed antisemitism firsthand since October 7, 2023.

While some universities have strengthened their policies in the past year, the ADL said in March that many still fail to adequately protect Jewish students and faculty.

More than 73% of respondents said they had witnessed antisemitic activity or rhetoric from faculty, administrators or staff on their campuses. Nearly half (44%) reported that their campus hosts a chapter of Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP), a group created in October 2023 as part of the US Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) campaign. The movement has long sought to isolate Israeli scholars, cancel study-abroad programs in Israel, and delegitimize Israeli academic institutions.

One faculty member described an ongoing pattern of harassment: “I’m being attacked online by students and I am being ostracized by faculty in a smear campaign,” the respondent said. “I have been advised by the provost for my own safety not to come to campus tomorrow… I am to teach my class online and reevaluate whether it’s safe to come to campus next week. This is as bad as it gets. This has been a multi-prong attack on me because I stood up regularly against antisemitism on campus.”

Nearly 60% reported experiencing offensive or derogatory anti-Israel remarks in personal conversations on campus, while one-third (33%) reported being subjected to anti-Jewish comments directly. Online, 34% reported being targeted with anti-Israel material online or on social media.

These incidents represent not academic discourse or political debate, but personal attacks designed to intimidate and silence Jewish faculty members, the ADL noted.

Administrators often downplayed these incidents, the survey said. Over half (53%) of Jewish faculty said their university’s response to antisemitism or anti-Israel bias was “very” or “somewhat” unhelpful, while 77% said the same about professional faculty associations.

“Administrators say there is no antisemitism problem because they receive few complaints,” one professor explained. “They ignore the fact that people stay silent because they fear retaliation and believe nothing will change.”

About 8% said their courses have been boycotted by students due to their religion.

“Students dropped my class after finding out I’m Jewish — a class on engineering ethics which has nothing to do with politics,” one teacher pointed out.

Nearly 40% of Jewish professors who had experienced hostility said they had considered leaving academia, compared with 5% of peers who had not been harassed. Similarly, 35% of those reporting harassment said they were uncomfortable disclosing their Jewish identity on campus.

Despite being targets of antisemitic behavior themselves, 64% of the faculty members surveyed reported being told by others on campus what is and is not antisemitism, the report found.

“Jewish faculty are being forced to hide their identities, excluded from professional opportunities, and told by their own colleagues what constitutes antisemitism — even as they experience it firsthand,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “Universities must recognize that academic excellence cannot thrive when faculty members are marginalized based on their identity.”

The ADL and AEN urged colleges and universities to strengthen anti-discrimination policies, ensure faculty uphold professional and ethical standards and prevent academic departments from imposing political orthodoxies. For professional academic associations, they called for clear codes of ethics, transparent reporting processes for antisemitism, safeguards for open inquiry, and strict policies governing public statements, events and online forums.

“Universities are supposed to be the academic homes where faculty dedicate their lives to teaching, research and the pursuit of truth,” said ADL vice president of advocacy Shira Goodman. “Instead, our findings show that antisemitism is driving Jewish faculty from those very homes — forcing them to choose between their safety and their careers.”