SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A majority of UC Davis’ Jewish students do not feel safe expressing their identity and experienced antisemitism on campus, according to a newly released report card on antisemitism at U.S. colleges and universities.

University of California, Davis, isn’t spared. Its grade: F.

The report, “Antisemitism on U.S. Colleges and University Campuses” by the organization Stop AntiSemitism, notes what it said has been an unprecedented surge of incidents on campuses and university and college leaders who have done little to stop it.

More than nine of 10 UC Davis’ Jewish students surveyed said they did not feel safe expressing their Jewish identity and did not feel welcome in many of the university’s spaces. Eight in 10 said they had experienced antisemitism on campus; and all — 100% — said they felt blamed for Israel’s actions.

The UC Davis student responses outpace the survey’s as a whole, in some cases dramatically. In the survey, 43% of students said they hid their Jewish identity on campus. Little more than half said they had been victims of antisemitism on their campuses. Seven in 10 surveyed said they felt blamed for the actions of Israel.

Stop AntiSemitism has released its annual report each year since 2022; a survey of students at 25 colleges and universities across the U.S., gauging how each addresses antisemitism on its campuses, showing what the report’s authors say is a “glaring disconnect between university leadership and the students they’re failing to protect.”

The report card lists “notable incidents” that contributed to UC Davis’ failing grade. They include:

▪ In October 2023, a UC Davis professor appeared to have posted social media messages threatening Jewish American journalists. UC Davis condemned the statements and launched an investigation, but the professor remained employed at the university.

▪ In April 2024, Jewish and Israeli students filed a federal civil rights complaint against UC Davis describing an “atmosphere of hostility” on the campus, alleging the university failed to protect campus members from antisemitic harassment including threats of physical harm.

UC Davis has 2,500 Jewish undergraduate students, comprising 8% of the undergraduate student body, and 850 Jewish graduate students, making up 11% of the graduate student population, according to the national anti-hate organization Anti-Defamation League, whose own report card gives the university a D for its “deficient approach.”

UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May forcefully condemned the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people in the days after the attack. The university’s information page Addressing Antisemitism outlines steps UC Davis officials have taken to tackle hate; while its Hate-Free UC Davis campaign address campus safety.

University officials also point to the university’s work in the Hillel Campus Climate Initiative, the flagship program of Jewish student organization Hillel International to help university leaders confront antisemitism on campus and build a welcoming climate for Jewish students.

“UC Davis is committed to fostering a climate of equity and justice where all can feel welcome and thrive, free of harassment or discrimination,” said James Nash, a university spokesman.

Nash added that when UC Davis receives a complaint of antisemitism or other offensive behavior, it immediately reaches out to the affected parties to provide support and resources, and reviews the allegations under the university’s anti-discrimination policy.

“Our top priority is to provide support and guidance to any member of our community who may be impacted by harmful speech or offensive behavior, to ensure that they are not restricted in their participation in UC Davis programs or activities.”

UC Davis is the only California university on the list, which includes American University in Washington, D.C.; Emory University in Atlanta; Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University; University of Oregon; and University of Washington, among others.

“Many of the schools we evaluated will receive failing grades, and the reasons are both alarming and unsurprising. Jewish students and professors have been ambushed, harassed, stalked, and physically assaulted,” the report read. “And what did many of the universities do? Absolutely nothing of consequence.”

Absent are campuses including Columbia University, UCLA and USC, sites of heated student protest over the Israeli war in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, deadly surprise attack that sparked Israel’s war with Hamas.

“Many campuses witnessed illegal encampments that barred Jewish students and faculty from entering, leading to widespread disruptions, including graduations,” the report read.

The Oct. 7 massacre, ongoing war and its mounting toll were the backdrop for the survey. The report, the group’s third, was released one year after the Israel-Hamas war began, noting that “in the wake of the 10/7 massacre, weʼve seen an unprecedented surge of antisemitism on college campuses.”

The survey’s authors said the surge in tips and accounts to the group from Jewish students of harassment, threats and exclusion, coupled with a lack of response from universities showed that universities are failing their Jewish students and point to a wider issue: university leaders’ “detachment from the very real dangers Jewish students face daily.”

Only two of the 25 universities and colleges in this year’s survey responded to the group’s queries.

The report’s authors called on colleges and universities to take necessary steps to address antisemitic incidents on their campuses as soon as they happen and issue statements expressing solidarity with Jewish communities; establish welcoming environments including affinity groups for Jewish students; and include Jewish students in campus’ diversity, equity and inclusion policies; among other recommendations.

“Colleges should be places where everyone can coexist peacefully, without fear of prejudice against their identity, but too often Jews have been excluded from that coexistence,” the report concluded. “Fighting campus antisemitism not only helps Jewish students today, it lays the foundation for a future in which Jews are welcome at every campus.”

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