I’m quite liberal, but I support Israel. I have a tentative list of colleges I’m applying to and I was wondering if there is a lot of hostility towards pro-Israel students: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Williams, Barnard, Wesleyan, Binghamton
So what if they disagree with your views on Israel? Yes, many students at these schools will be critical of the Israeli government’s actions and stances. Engage them in a respectful and civil matter. Don’t avoid people or places just because they might not agree with everything you believe in…
The world has turned upside down. It once was true that being “liberal” meant supporting Israel.
Great post @MurphyBrown. Sad to see that Brandeis had Noam Chomsky as a speaker. ‘In the Q & A after the talk, Chomsky said that he did not believe that Israel had the right to be a Jewish state.’
imagine being a conservative student
Israel. Just utter “laissez faire capitalism”, limited government, individual liberty trumps “group rights” etc. and you will get a feel for what a “liberal” college campus feels inclusion and tolerance feels like. Sorry for all the quotation marks but it is difficult to speak clearly nowadays.
This is the kind of comment that drives me up the wall. I’m not a big Chomsky fan, but he shouldn’t be banned from speaking at campuses because he has views people disagree with.
True…as long as campuses are fair and present speakers with opposing views. When only one side is presented…
There’s a difference between banning and not inviting, no?
It depends on what exactly makes you uncomfortable. Brown has very vocal BDS and SJP groups that will routinely protest pro-Israeli speakers (or, occasionally, speakers that are being sponsored by Hillel; look up last year’s Laverne Cox debacle). But they also have Birthright trips that some students go on. Most students probably won’t care about your views, but there are some who definitely will.
That being said, those schools are all fairly selective. It may be better to focus on being admitted, and then once you have to make a choice, contacting the school’s Hillel to see if they can set you up with students who can give you a better idea of what the campus attitudes are.
@simba9 I see your point and agree in theory. I’m no expert, just a Southern Protestant, but it seems from what I read about is that anti-Semitism is allowed and tolerated more than hate speech directed against any other group. So should a speaker who denounces the very existence of Israel be allowed to speak? I am not comfortable with banning speakers either. Sorry, I don’t want to divert the OP’s thread. What I was musing and lamenting about is that a university founded in part due to a history of anti-Semitism in America so pervasive that Jews were denied entry in colleges, now itself may be a campus where a Jewish person encounters anti-Semitic. And OP was asking about hostility towards pro-Israel students.
Pro-Israel activist here who goes to a selective college similar to these. All of these schools have established pro-Israel clubs that I am aware of except for Williams (I could be wrong) and Binghamton (I don’t know much about it). I believe that Brown and Barnard have the most anti-Israel sentiment of the ones you have listed. I also took anti-Israel sentiment into account when I chose my college, feel free to message me if you have questions.
Almost all colleges will have widespread anti-Israel sentiment (to varying degrees) but in my opinion what’s most important is finding like-minded pro-Israel students who you can feel comfortable around so your entire college experience does not consist of arguing with people who call for the demise of Israel.
That’s a good point @WildestDream . However, my main concern is being bullied, not people with different views.
All elite colleges are predominantly left-wing and it is unlikely there are any where at least a few people will not bother you if you are outwardly pro-Israel.
Define bother. Will people express an opposing point of view if you are openly pro-Israel? Highly likely. That’s different than bullying or anti-semitism.
Depends on what you mean by “uncomfortable,” OP.
If you accept that your school is likely to have pro-Palestinian groups and students/faculty critical of current Israeli politics, you’ll be fine. But if you find their very presence on campus troublesome, then you may well feel uncomfortable.
I think it’s safe to say that the majority of students at any of these schools isn’t going to try to engage you in a vigorous debate on the topic. At the end of the day, most students have their interests and passions and the ones who you disagree with are usually easily avoided.
Depending on your major and friend group it is possible to go to school for 4 years and never have the topic of Israel come up once.
@doschicos I’ve read several articles about bullying (verbal and physical) towards pro-Israel students. That’s what I’m referring to.
@VickiSoCal I think I want to major in either neuroscience, environmental science, or political science.