Jewish students who have been accepted to the University of Maryland received a message of support from the University ahead of their gap year programs, showing support for them during a period in which many Jewish students have been made to feel unsafe on campus.
The memo made mention of those gap year students who chose to study in Israel and even mentioned those who served in the Israeli military during that time.
“We already regard you as a treasured member of our educational community. We are thinking about you and are holding you in our hearts,” the letter concluded.
The Jerusalem Post has extensively covered the alarming rise in campus antisemitism following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
There has been a staggering 1,180% rise in antisemitic events across the globe, with a third of all incidents taking place in the United States.
Jewish students who say they have experienced antisemitism on campus have reached an all-time high of 25% worldwide, leading to a wellspring of calls for universities to do more to combat anti-Jewish hate on their campuses.
The places which are pushing back
Some universities have announced projects aimed at tackling this phenomenon.
Both the Universities of Pennsylvania and Columbia in the United States have announced the convening of task forces to review and tackle incidents reported on their campuses.
Harvard has announced the inclusion of local Jewish groups in an advisory group dedicated to combatting the issue.