Jewish Students Avoid Elite University Over Anti-Israel Protests

An elite Jewish high school in New York City will not send any students to Columbia College for the first time in over 20 years reportedly due to the university’s handling of anti-Israel protests.

The Ramaz School said that it works to inform students about relevant events occurring at prospective schools, particularly of events impacting their Jewish faith, according to the New York Post. With anti-Semitic protests and incidents rising on college campuses following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Ramaz is paying special attention to highlighting hot spots where Jewish students may not feel safe.

“For the first time in over 20 years, we will not have a Ramaz graduate enrolling in Columbia College,” Ramaz said in a statement to the Post.

Columbia was among the first schools in the nation to see an outbreak of anti-Israel protests which became violent and resulted in hundreds of arrests and threats of expulsion. The university’s president, Minouche Shafik, stepped down in August following the controversial incidents.

“Ramaz provides as much information as possible about the situation at various colleges of interest, and we have given priority to issues surrounding the horrific rise in antisemitic instances at some schools, so that our students and their families are able to make informed decisions about which colleges are right for them,” a Ramaz representative told the Post.

“Jewish families are voting with their feet and choosing colleges and universities that take antisemitism seriously,” Rory Lancman, a Columbia Law School graduate whose two daughters graduated from Ramaz, told the New York Post. “I would not recommend my daughters to apply to Columbia or other colleges that aren’t committed to protect them as Jews.”

Yeshiva University, a top orthodox Jewish university in New York, reported a 75% increase in students transferring to the university during the height of campus protests in the 2024 spring semester compared to 2023, according to Inside Higher Ed. The university received a record number of applications in the university’s history last academic year and will be welcoming its highest number of students in over 15 years.

Columbia and Yeshiva did not immediately respond to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

(Featured image credit: Screen Capture/ABC News)

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