Fear and intimidation on both sides. UW releases report on Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

The University of Washington has released a report on the tense "campus climate" over the past academic year, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The report is the result of two task forces charged with looking into the perceptions and feelings of Jewish, Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian students.

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"The differences in perceptions of comfort and safety are rather stark depending on one’s own identities," the report states in its findings. "Members of all affected communities perceived less openness to diversity of opinions compared to members of the broader campus community and expressed greater perceptions of discomfort and unsafety for those who share their identities compared to those who do not."

The report states that students reported both Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus, including anti-Israel bias and a "perceived alienation and lack of support for Palestinian and Muslim communities." Insults, intimidation, and a desire to hide their identities were reported all around.

"The intent of this joint submission is not to equate antisemitism and Islamophobia, but to acknowledge that this particular moment puts into sharp relief the need to examine both in a shared context, as the present conflicts shine light on issues that impact members of our campus community who have experienced pain, isolation, fear, and discrimination," the report states.

According to UW's report, during the 2023-24 academic year:

• About two-thirds of Palestinian students said they had experienced insults and intimidation over the previous year. About half to one-third of Muslim and Arab/Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) students reported the same.
• One-third of Jewish students and 70% of Israeli students said they experienced insults and intimidation.
• 72% of Arab or MENA, 80% of Muslim students, and 78% of Palestinian students in the focus groups said they were unwelcome because of their identities.
• 60% of Jewish students and 92% of Israeli students in the focus groups said they were unwelcome because of their identities.
• 69% of Arab/MENA students, 74% of Muslim students, and 77% of Palestinian students reported a desire to hide their identity at least once (38% of Arab/MENA students, 40% of Muslim students, and 50% of Palestinian students said this happened frequently).
• 65% of Jewish students and 95% is Israeli students said they needed to hide their identities at least once (42% of Jewish students, 81% of Israeli students said this happened frequently).

Read the full 143-page report here.

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In March 2024, UW President Ana Mari Cauce ordered the formation of the two task forces — one for gauging Islamophobia on campus, and the other for Anti-Semitism. Those task forces conducted a series of surveys with focus groups in May 2024 to develop the report released Tuesday. During that time, there were multiple protests and a pro-Palestine encampment on the UW campus.

"We recognize the importance of preserving public free speech; however, the encampment and campus protests, at times, were perceived to go beyond these lines of argument and advocacy to call, implicitly or even explicitly, for violence," the report states.

"Many survey or focus group participants were distressed by the perceived alienation and lack of support provided for Palestinian and Muslim members of our community. In voicing concerns related to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, they sought visibility for their cause and for the UW to provide a place where these local and global concerns could be focused on, feeling at times that their message and concerns were not adequately heard nor addressed."

No information from these focus groups was looked into or confirmed for accuracy. UW says that the purpose of the task forces was more for "gathering feedback and gaining an understanding of the campus climate."

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