https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-school-doesnt-tolerate-anti-semitism-hamas-ivy-league-jewish-students-protest-1a5b4d97?mod=opinion_lead_pos10
America’s elite colleges and universities are soft on terrorism and strong on anti-Semitism. Who knew?
Weak-kneed responses by academic leaders to Hamas’s attack on Israel, coupled with soaring anti-Semitism on campuses, have created a crisis. Jewish students are increasingly unsafe, while major donors are alarmed by the harmful ideas promoted by the institutions they support.
The implicit bargain in higher education is that donors support schools as an expression of good citizenship, and it’s up to the schools to produce good citizens. This bargain has frayed in recent years as schools aren’t holding up their end of the deal.
Many campuses have become echo chambers that lack intellectual diversity and promote a climate of intolerance. To avoid being “canceled” by progressives, moderate and conservative students and faculty practice self-censorship rather than discuss controversial ideas.
The response to the Oct. 7 attack exposed how schools have become incubators of radicalism. Protests, vandalism, intimidation, and assaults—mostly targeting Jewish students—are the fruits of the critical-theory educational model that stigmatizes Jews as “white oppressors” and Israelis as “Zionist colonizers.” In response to anti-Semitism, university administrators have either done nothing or issued anodyne statements deploring violence in general terms, until some were badgered into reacting more explicitly.
Many donors saw the jarring response from the academy as a betrayal of their generosity and deeply held values. Now they are voting with their feet and wallets: withdrawing or canceling donations, resigning from boards, and encouraging alumni to boycott their alma maters.