EXCLUSIVE: US voters overwhelmingly say Harvard, Columbia and other top universities are failing to crack down on anti-Semitism and Hamas support on campus, our poll shows
- Republicans and Democratic voters both felt top schools should do more
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog decried 'evil ideologies' on US campuses
- READ MORE: Outrage as UPenn Junior endorses Hamas' Oct 7 attack saying: 'I remember feeling so empowered and happy'
US adults by wide margins say top universities are not doing enough to crack down on anti-Semitism and support for Hamas hardliners on campus, a DailyMail.com/TIPP Poll shows.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents to our survey — 63 percent — said elite schools were failing to meet the challenge of hateful rhetoric. Another 14 percent disagreed, and 23 percent said they were unsure.
Our poll comes as top schools have become a flash point over Israel's escalating military offensive into Gaza, aimed at destroying Hamas militants who murdered and captured hundreds of people, mostly civilians, last month.
Rights groups have warned that Jewish and Israeli students are facing abuse on campuses, where left-leaning student groups and professors often side with the Palestinians and rail against Israeli oppression.
![Nearly two thirds of respondents said Ivy League schools were failing](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/07/18/77514815-12720751-image-a-2_1699381701195.jpg)
Nearly two thirds of respondents said Ivy League schools were failing
![Israel's President Isaac Herzog (pictured) wrote to the presidents of US universities and colleges to decry the 'evil ideologies' on campuses](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/07/18/76727075-12720751-The_president_of_Israel_yesterday_condemned_the_BBC_for_its_atro-a-1_1699381682852.jpg)
Israel's President Isaac Herzog (pictured) wrote to the presidents of US universities and colleges to decry the 'evil ideologies' on campuses
In some cases, the rhetoric has extended into vocal support for an armed resistance against Israel, and clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protestors have led to violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday sent a letter to the presidents of 700 US universities and colleges, calling for action against rising antisemitism on their campuses.
'Each of the higher education institutions can and should lead the fight against the scourge of anti-Semitism,' Herzog wrote, according to the Jerusalem Post.
'We all know that evil ideologies that are directed towards Jews always signal a much wider intellectual collapse.'
Our survey of about 1,400 US adults showed that most Americans agree with Herzog that US schools were not doing enough.
Some 41 percent said they felt strongly that US schools were not doing enough.
Another 22 percent agreed somewhat.
That included majorities across all regions of the US, and in all age groups.
Only a small margin of respondents — 14 percent — said the administrators of US colleges had anti-Semitism under control.
Still, nearly a quarter of respondents said they were not sure whether the schools had it right.
There was little difference between the attitudes of Republicans and Democrats.
Independent voters were less likely to criticize the universities.
US campus activists have been roiled by events in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave where Israeli forces are intensifying their bid to obliterate Hamas, which butchered and kidnapped hundreds of people, mostly civilians, on October 7.
![Pro-Palestine demonstrators stop a pro-Israel demonstrator during a protest at Columbia University](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/07/18/77514911-12720751-image-a-10_1699381807613.jpg)
Pro-Palestine demonstrators stop a pro-Israel demonstrator during a protest at Columbia University
![Students of American University attend a campus protest against ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza in Washington DC](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/07/18/77514893-12720751-image-a-12_1699381839119.jpg)
Students of American University attend a campus protest against ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza in Washington DC
Pro-Palestine activists have staged campus rallies against Israel's blockade on the coastal strip and a military campaign that has already killed more than 10,000 Palestinians.
In some cases, these have led to intimidation and harassment of Jewish and Israeli students at those schools.
Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, became the latest US college hit by the scourge, after a student posted online threats to 'bring an assault rifle to campus' and slit the throat' of Jewish men, and rape Jewish women.
Cornell student Patrick Dai, 21, has been charged with threatening to kill or injure using interstate communications, prosecutors say. If convicted, he faces up to five years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.
A Jewish student was reportedly assaulted while passing a group of activists staging a pro-Palestine rally on the campus of Pomona College, in Claremont, California, last month.
Cornell University history professor Russell Rickford has been bashed for calling the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel 'exhilarating' and 'energizing.'
In New York City, a small group of Jewish students had to hide in the library and later flee through a side entrance as pro-Palestinian activists rallied outside, pounding on the windows and shouting.
![Nearly 100 incidents of anti-Semitic violence or intimidation have been recorded at US colleges and universities since the Hamas attacks and in the ensuing conflict](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/07/18/77187139-12720751-Nearly_100_incidents_of_anti_Semitic_violence_or_intimidation_ha-a-11_1699381824944.jpg)
Nearly 100 incidents of anti-Semitic violence or intimidation have been recorded at US colleges and universities since the Hamas attacks and in the ensuing conflict
Colleges have come under fire for tolerating vehement criticism of Israel's policies.
Schools including Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania have lost donors and partnerships over statements seen as anti-Semitic or insufficiently supportive of Israel.
Two groups that monitor attacks on Jewish Americans — the Secure Community Network (SCN) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — have told DailyMail.com of an alarming surge in incidents on campuses across the US.
Advocates of Palestinian- Arab- and Muslim-Americans also describe similar concerns.
Some 100 incidents of anti-Semitic violence or intimidation have been recorded at US colleges and universities since the Hamas attacks and ensuing conflict
The Department of Education on Tuesday wrote to schools and colleges to tackle discrimination, including against those who are Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian, saying they could lose federal funding if they fail to do so.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said there had been an uptick in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents, including 'egregious acts.' He told CNN that the department would help to investigate them.
'Ultimately, if we have to withhold dollars from a campus refusing to comply, we would,' Cardona said.