Cornell University professor William Jacobson says campus antisemitism has evolved and gone underground two years after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
Two years after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, antisemitic « venom » infecting America’s colleges hasn’t faded – it’s evolved, a professor said.
The protests may have quieted, but « venomous » hatred has gone underground, and it’s spreading through classrooms, faculty lounges, and student groups, William Jacobson, a Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, said.
He says universities have learned to mask the problem, cracking down on encampments and visible disruptions while the ideology driving the hate has only hardened.
« There has been a gross campaign at the international level to demonize Israel », he told Fox News Digital. « False accusations of genocide. These are all percolating under the surface on the campuses. In some ways, the situation’s worse underneath. »
He argues that the same ideas that fueled the pro-Hamas protests of 2023 have now been absorbed into campus culture, where they are « more organized, more coordinated, and more dangerous » than before.
« People should not be complacent that these issues were brewing before October 7th », he warned. « They’ve been pushed now back below the surface, but it’s still brewing on campuses and nobody should kid themselves. »Universities ‘Playing Rope-a-Dope’ With Trump Administration
He also accused elite universities of stalling the federal crackdown on campus antisemitism, saying they are « playing hide-and-seek » with the Department of Education’s investigations, and are betting they can simply outlast them.
« I think the schools think they can outlast the Trump administration », said Jacobson. « That they can rope-a-dope it for two to three more years. And then perhaps they’ll be rescued by a new administration.
