https://www.city-journal.org/article/northwestern-university-initiative-to-combat-anti-semitism-destined-to-fail
Even among the jarring snapshots that emerged from this spring’s anti-Israel encampments, imagery from Northwestern University’s “Liberated Zone” was particularly vile. In addition to the usual signs calling for the elimination of Israel, the campus was defaced with a depiction of a crossed-out Star of David—a symbol not just of Israel, but of the Jewish people. Perhaps most horrifying was a sign featuring Northwestern’s Jewish president, Michael Schill, caricatured with horns and blood dripping from his face, with a dialogue bubble reading, “I [heart] genocide.”
At the time, Schill indicated that Northwestern would take the blatant anti-Semitism seriously. “[W]hen I see a Star of David with an X on it, when I see a picture of me with horns or when I hear that one of our students has been called a ‘dirty Jew,’ there is no ambiguity,” he said. “This needs to be condemned by all of us, and that starts with me.”
Nothing more than that condemnation materialized. Northwestern did not punish any student demonstrators. In fact, the administration negotiated an end to the encampment by acquiescing to several of the group’s demands. Schill had formed an Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate in November 2023, but it disbanded in May after failing to find consensus on appropriate language to address festering Jew-hatred.
The kicker came last week, when Northwestern took a step likely to be emulated by other universities seeking to fend off lawsuits alleging violations of Jewish students’ civil rights. Schill announced that Northwestern would provide “expanded resources” and “educational opportunities” to combat “antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate.” At the heart of the plan: “Mandatory trainings on antisemitism and other forms of hate will be used in September at incoming student orientation and over the Fall Quarter for all returning students.” Naturally, there will also be “an integration of antisemitism and Islamophobia into the work of our Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Office, including a new religious literacy program.”