10 | DECEMBER 23 • 2021 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay

Ohio Governor Takes 
Initiative to Protect 
Jewish College Students
I

magine sending your 
Jewish son or daughter off 
to college with high hopes 
for intellectual development, 
self-discovery and growth 
in a healthy environment 
because you 
believe in the 
school and that 
its promotion 
of diversity 
and inclusion 
will ensure a 
safe space for 
young people. 
Only then do you learn that 
Jewish students are being 
made to feel so insecure that 
they need to hide their Jewish 
identity.
Statistics on campus 
antisemitism cannot be 
ignored.
According to a fall survey 
by the American Jewish 
Committee (the State of 
Antisemitism in America 
2021), close to seven out of 
every 10 Jewish students on 
campus feel unsafe, and 50 
percent hide their Jewish 
identity.
The ADL-Hillel Campus 
Antisemitism Study: 2021 
supports these findings: 43 
percent of Jewish students 
report having personally 
experienced or witnessed 
antisemitic activities 
on campus. For those 
experiencing in-person 
offensive comments or 
slurs, 79 percent say it 
happened more than once. 

These percentages are likely 
low, as 75 percent of those 
experiencing antisemitism 
say they did not report it.
If you think this is 
outlier data, the overall 
situation for Jews in this 
country, regardless of age, is 
shockingly bad and getting 
worse. The New York City 
Police Department has just 
reported a 50 percent spike in 
antisemitic hate crimes so far 
in 2021.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine 
has decided to address 
on-campus antisemitism 
in his state. He reached out 
directly to 111 presidents of 
colleges and universities, and 
publicly suggested a series 
of specific recommendations 
to them on what to do, 
thus creating visible public 
pressure on the colleges 
and universities to actually 
follow through with concrete 
actions.
DeWine’s suggestions are 
far-reaching and encompass 
every key constituency to 
effect positive change on this 
problem. They include:
• Identifying and 
contacting the Jewish 
community in each college 
location to work with the 
institution on specific plans 
to ensure a safe environment, 
online and off.
• Directly reaching the 
highest-ranking officer at 
each institution to secure 
their personal commitment 

to address the scourge of 
Jew-hatred as a priority and 
to speak out publicly against 
it, while urging only free, 
open, civil and respectful 
debate from all on-campus 
communities.
• Contacting campus 
chiefs of police and public 
safety directors to work with 
the Jewish communities 
and coordinate with local 
and state law enforcement 
to develop and refine 
specific plans to increase 
safety, protect the Jewish 
community, and work to 
ensure that services and other 
celebrations of Jewish life are 
safe and uninterrupted.
These recommended steps 
can and should be a model 
for every other governor to 
follow in every state across 
the union. The safety and 
well-being of our Jewish 
students in colleges across 
America require nothing less 
than forceful action against 
surging Jew-hatred. Some 
may ask, “Why are Jewish 
students being singled out 
for special protections or 
given a higher priority than 
others? Won’t this ostensible 
‘preference’ present political 
challenges for governors?”
It is true that too many on 
campus today are subjected 
to derision, intimidation, 
hate speech or even violence 
due to their race, religion, 
political beliefs or other 
personal preferences. 

Colleges have started to take 
steps to address some of these 
through increased and more 
focused policing as well as 
through diversity, equity and 
inclusion (DEI) programs.
Too often on campus, 
hostility and intimidation of 
Jewish students are related to 
their support of Israel. This 
is excused as a free speech 
issue, a political matter. Yet 
no one would excuse hostility 
toward any group of students 
because of actions or policies 
of nations they come from or 
support.
Jew-hatred is not limited to 
universities. The FBI’s 2020 
statistics show that of all hate 
crimes in America, targeting 
Jews comprised 57.5 percent, 
far more than people of any 
other religious group.
DeWine’s actions represent 
an important step in the 
equal treatment of Jews on 
campus and are consistent 
with how other minorities 
are protected. His actions 
provide a model framework 
for all governors.
Jewish civil rights, 
especially for our Jewish 
youth, deserve the support 
of all those who really care 
about equality, inclusion and 
a safe learning environment 
on campus. 

Tony Katz is the founder of the 

Confronting Anti-Semitism Network 

(CAN) in South Florida, Atlanta, New 

York City/Long Island, Boston and 

Indianapolis.

Tony Katz
jns.org

