Prominent US Christian universities condemn antisemitism and vow to keep Jewish students safe

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Two top U.S. Christian universities – Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) and Colorado Christian University (CCU) – issued statements condemning antisemitism on U.S. campuses and pledged to keep their Jewish students safe in light of the dramatic rise in antisemitism following the Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel that claimed the lives of at least 1,200 individuals.

IWU President Jon S. Kulaga and CCU president Eric K. Hogue jointly signed a letter which stated, “To our Beloved Jewish Brothers and Sisters: We write to express our profound shock and indignation in response to the surge of hate and violence directed against Jewish and Israeli individuals on university campuses across the United States earlier this year.”

“We want to make it clear to our nation and the world that our Christian institutions will not tolerate this behavior,” the university heads pledged, adding that “the terrible events we all witnessed at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year are already being forgotten. What we have all seen reveals a profound problem in the culture of many institutions, a problem which must be addressed.”

IWU has an enrollment of over 14,000 students and CCU has a student population exceeding 10,000.

There has been a reported 700% increase in antisemitic cases on American university campuses since Oct. 7 according to a Hillel International survey. In addition, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) conducted a survey revealing that 26% of Gen Z individuals – those born from the mid-’90s to the early 2010s – support the Hamas terrorist organization, which openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Kulaga and Hogue expressed concern over the decline of academic institutions and the rise of intolerance

“For centuries, the academy has stood as a beacon of enlightenment, embodying the Judeo-Christian values of tolerance, freedom, and human dignity. Yet, in recent days, what we have seen is an insidious darkness encroaching upon the academy. It is a darkness emblematic of other terrible periods in history,” adding “History warns us, now.”

The two Christian university leaders condemned academic institutions that tolerate organizations like "Justice in Palestine (SJP)" that advocate hatred and violence against Jews and pro-Israel supporters.

“Is it any wonder that eventually, the activities of SJP and organizations aligned with them ignited an inferno of violence and hate on countless campuses?” the letter states. “No student club should be allowed to celebrate and justify such violence on any campus. They will not be allowed to do so on our campuses.”

The letter concluded by inviting more Jewish and Israeli students to study at CCU and IWU campuses.

“You will be welcomed, and you will be safe," the letter stated. "We stand with you in solidarity and thank you for your community’s stewardship through many centuries of the values underpinning our institutions.”

In November, a Network Contagion Research Institute report revealed a connection between the rise of antisemitism on U.S. campuses and undisclosed donations from Qatar and other authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.

In March, the prominent American film producer Steven Spielberg condemned the “machinery of extremism” on American campuses.

“We see every day how the machinery of extremism is being used on college campuses,“ Spielberg said during a speech at the University of Southern California, where he was honored for his projects commemorating the Holocaust.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. And I am increasingly alarmed that we may be condemned to repeat history, to once again have to fight for the very right to be Jewish,” he warned.