My School Doesn’t Tolerate Anti-Semitism And we are happy to work with donors who are tired of giving to colleges that do. By James S. Robbins
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.
Some schools set a higher standard. As the academic dean at the Institute of World Politics—a private graduate school in Washington—I have had no problem calling out Hamas for its genocidal actions. My academic and professional background is in counterterrorism, and I served for a decade in the Defense Department’s professional military education programs. Other scholar-practitioners at IWP have analyzed or operated against adversaries in Russia, Iran, Latin America, East Asia and elsewhere. We bring our real-world experience to the classroom, and we encourage intellectual inquiry, debate, and diversity.
Donors frustrated with schools in thrall to progressivism but who still want to support education should shop around for a better fit. IWP is one of many smaller, private schools where uncensored debate, critical thinking, and respect for Western civilization still thrive. Schools with values-based undergraduate programs such as High Point University, Belmont Abbey College, Grove City College, Elon University, Hillsdale College and Liberty University don’t tolerate the outrageous behavior we have seen at establishment schools.
Donors who reject Western civilization and would like to see Israel erased, by contrast, can always give to the Ivy League.
Mr. Robbins is dean of academics at the Institute of World Politics.
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