Jewish community leaders express concern about potential resurgence of anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses, following disruptive protests during spring semester.
As college students return to campus this month, university administrators and pro-Israel activists are on high alert for a possible resurgence of anti-Israel protests that have plagued campuses in recent years. These protests have often disrupted daily activities and, in some cases, blurred the lines between free speech and outright antisemitism.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, expressed his concerns to Fox News Digital. "We're very concerned about what's coming down the pike," Hauer said. "The good news is that everybody used the summer to prepare for the school year. And the bad news is that everybody had the summer to prepare for the school year."
Anti-Israel Protest Fears Reignite as Colleges Reopen
During the spring semester, protests erupted on campuses nationwide in response to Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. Protesters encamped on campus quads and disrupted daily operations, leading to violent clashes with police and more than 3,000 arrests.
In the months since, university administrators have imposed new rules banning encampments and limiting the duration of demonstrations, allowing protests only in designated spaces and restricting campus access to those with university identification.
Anti-Israel Protest Fears Reignite as Colleges Reopen
"I think many campuses recognized — whatever their personal sympathies were — it was bedlam, and it wasn't healthy. And it couldn't continue," Hauer said. "And they worked on policies on time and place restrictions and how they would react."
Hauer's organization, the Orthodox Union, represents a broad Jewish community, including rabbinic families on dozens of college campuses, and provides resources for student leaders dealing with antisemitism on campus.
Anti-Israel Protest Fears Reignite as Colleges Reopen
Hauer argued that the movement behind these protests goes well beyond college campuses and has "very dark" funding sources. "It's a movement that's not going to be resolved by people sitting down together to understand each other, because their goal is not to understand each other. Their goal is to drive anyone who supports Israel. Their goal — as they state in their protest — is one state. You know, back to pre-48," Hauer said, referring to the year Israel became a nation.
Hauer clarified that neither he nor his organization advocate shutting down protests against the state of Israel or the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, per se. "I think there's lots of room for legitimate protest, and I think that we have seen an incredible amount of illegitimate protest in this movement," Hauer said. "It is perfectly appropriate for people to choose to protest against the Netanyahu government or the policies of the Netanyahu government. And … it may even be OK for them to protest against the existence of the state of Israel. It may not be something that I agree with at all. But that doesn't make it, per se, something that they shouldn't have the right to say."
Despite restrictions in place for the new school year, Hauer remains concerned that administrators may not be up to the task of reining in the more radical elements of the anti-Israel protests. "We're worried because they are up against a very, very formidable movement that has shown incredible resilience and adaptability to be able to get around and through whatever kinds of safety and protections campuses would define," Hauer said.
The reemergence of anti-Israel protests has sparked widespread concern among Jewish organizations and communities across the country. They fear that these protests, often fueled by antisemitic rhetoric and misinformation, could create a hostile environment for Jewish students and undermine the integrity of academic discourse on campuses.
