A new study on anti-Semitism on US college campuses, issued by the American Jewish Committee and Hillel International, estimates that 42% of Jewish students have experienced some form of anti-Semitism on campus.

According to Elyana Funk, executive director of CU Boulder Hillel, that estimated figure — four in 10 Jewish students experiencing an anti-Semitic act — might be a fair estimate at the Boulder campus.

“It’s certainly not uncommon that students have had to experience anti-Semitism,” says Funk, “whether that’s from their class, from their professors in class, from peers or from strangers on campus.

“We hear incidents from students in all of those buckets. With 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, it’s such a varied experience. There are some students who will say, ‘I’ve absolutely never experienced an anti-Semitic incident.’ And then we have many who say, ‘I’ve experienced it every week.’”

In the past, the IJN has documented acts of anti-Semitism at area colleges and universities. On Oct. 12, 2023, a pro-Palestinian protest created tension on the CU campus.

“It has been quite tense on campus,” said student Jake Stone in the Dec. 8, 2023 edition of the IJN. “Boulder itself was a very neutral campus before October 7. Then, everything turned and switched.”

Funk says:

“I’m serving on a campus where by and large it’s been a really positive place to be Jewish. We’ve been really fortunate that we have a great relationship with our administration here.

“Part of my role is to advocate for all the Jewish students here. Our Jewish population is growing so quickly because I think CU Boulder is getting a reputation that it’s a good place to be Jewish.”

That said, there are gut-wrenching incidents Funk and area Jewish leaders have to navigate.

“We had the spray-painting incident that happened in the fall of 2024. That was really impactful on our student community where somebody or some group of people spray painted our campus with some anti-Israel, anti-Semitic language,” says Funk.

“That was really hard.”

The study also revealed that 34% of Jewish students surveyed responded that they have avoided publicly displaying their Jewish identity due to fear of intimidation.

“Students who have experienced anti-Semitism were so much more likely to withdraw in really profound ways from their communities and from campus life,” said Dr. Laura Shaw Frank of the American Jewish Committee, in an interview on the Feb. 19 edition of the IJN Cast.

“Those students are more likely to feel uncomfortable at a campus event, so they might not go, or they’re far more likely to avoid wearing, carrying or displaying something that would identify them as Jewish,” said Shaw Frank.

“They’re far more likely to avoid expressing their view views on Israel on campus.

“All students are showing those types of behaviors because it’s a tough atmosphere for all Jewish students.

“The percentages are so much higher among Jewish students who reported experiencing anti-Semitism. This is a result of anti-Semitism that can’t be tracked by reporting portals or any kind of mechanism that a university has.

“These are feelings that Jewish students are having and behaviors that they are engaging in once they’ve experienced an act of anti-Semitism.”

Dr. Shaw Frank is concerned about another data point from the survey:

“Eighty percent of parents of Jewish high school students said that reports of anti-Semitism on campus are at least somewhat important in deciding where their students will attend college.

“This is something that we know students are thinking about already in high school, and certainly their parents are thinking about it as well, so they’re trying to prepare themselves.

“They’re trying to go to campuses where they would feel comfortable. Sometimes, even at a campus that should be a comfortable place, there are still incidents. These aren’t things that we can blame a university president for, but they are real.

“Very, very real.”

Back on the CU Boulder campus, Funk reflects on the study’s findings.

“We have a thriving Hillel and a thriving Chabad and a thriving SSI (Students Supporting Israel). I’m in a spot that is really positive to be Jewish.

“I don’t want to downplay that the last couple of years have been really, really hard and we have had, without a doubt, a lot of challenges. We had about a 400% increase in anti-Semitic incidents that were reported.

“Our students have had to navigate a lot. But, we have not had encampments and we have not had violence that has happened elsewhere.

“Yes, there have been some of the organized protests that have impacted our Jewish community and those groups were put in bad standing by the administration, because they broke policy.

“That really showed our community that the administration will enforce their policies regarding the expression of anti-Semitism.”

© IJN 2026