In November, at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, there were three pro-Palestinian rallies over the course of several days, where some students said they felt the college president, Maurie McInnis, was biased in favor of Israel.
At Hofstra, both Jewish and Muslim students reported an increase in discriminatory acts and feelings of fear on and off campus, according to the college newspaper, the Chronicle.
And, in the fall, officials at least four Long Island high schools – Commack, Smithtown East, Syosset and Southwoods, reported finding swastikas and other anti-Semitic language.
The anti-semitism that has been sweeping the country since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 Israelis and taking about 240 hostages, has been hitting Long Island colleges and high schools, according to administrators and experts who study hate crimes.
The rise of anti-semitic acts prompted U.S. Rep Nick LaLota (R-Hauppauge), to take to the House floor.
“Since Oct. 7, American has seen a demonstrable rise in antisemitism on college campuses, where students have been harassed and even assaulted simply for being Jewish,” LaLota said. He said he was sponsoring legislation supporting Israel and holding Hamas and Iran “accountable.”
Nationwide, the Anti Defamation League reports that there were 3,697, anti-semitic incidents – including harassment and assaults – in 2021, compared with 2,107 in 2019. In New York State, ADL says there were 580 such incidents in 2022, compared with 416 the previous year.
In Nassau County, police report 45 hate incidents against Jews in 2023, compared with 35 the year before. In Suffolk, police says there were 48 such incidents in 2023, more than double the 19 the previous year.
Long Island college campuses have seen rallies, peace vigils and fund-raising, but administrators and student newspapers say much of the tension is below the surface. But the tension, they say, is there. There have been far more hostile incidents at Ivy League schools, such as Harvard and Columbia.
“Students (at some Long Island campuses) have been made to feel uncomfortable,” said Christopher Probst, who heads education projects at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, in Glen Cove. “Since Oct. 7, there has been a culture climate where hate speech has been encouraged,” Probst added. “Before, if someone hated another group, they pretty much kept it quiet.”
So what has been happening on Long Island campuses?
At Hofstra, college president Susan Poser wrote a letter to student “concerning growing incidents of antisemitism and anti-Muslin hate speech and violence in this country, on some college campuses and on social media.”
“This is understandably causing anxiety on our campus, and it is of great concern,” she added. “Please be assured we are paying attention.”
Hofstra’s Hillel chapter issue issued a call to students, offering to “schedule time with you to discuss your options and ensure you are provided adequate emotional and logistical support following an incident” of a hate or bias crime.
One Hofstra student, Tal Heyman, who is Jewish, told the campus newspaper, the Chronicle, that there had been swastikas engraved in elevator and there had also been some inflammatory comments posted on the college’s official Instagram account.
Heyman also said she had experienced backlash when she posted her own views on social media.
“I almost blacked out because of how stressed I was,” she said.
Zainab Mozawalla, a Hofstra junior, said that after the Oct. 7 attack, she felt a rise in hatred toward Muslims. She said that she was approached after the attack by a woman who yelled at her. “You support terrorism,” she said the woman yelled. “You are a terrorist. You are a murderer.”
Mozawalla said she began to feel afraid to leave her car on campus because of the incidents.
Stony Brook’s president, McInnis, in late October, wrote to student to “express deep concern about the rise of antisemitism nationally, on Long Island, and on college campuses. She noted “horrific postings” at Cornell “threatening death to Jewish students.”
“This is not who we are as Americans,” McInnis said, “This is not who we are as members of the Stony Brook community.”
Mindy Perlmutter, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council on Long Island, said the organization has seen incidents of hate “grow in all areas, but more against Jews.”
Former president Donald Trump, she said, “made it alright to hate.” She cited his comments that “there were good people on both sides” after a demonstration in Charlottsville, Va., in which neo-Nazis participated.
There were hate incidents at several SUNY campuses. SUNY Chancellor John King was troubled enough by them to issue a letter to all SUNY students and faculty.
“I want to reiterate there is no place at SUNY for hated, anti-semitism, for bias of any kind, or for actions that jeopardize the safety of the campus community members,” King said.
