Antisemitism in 2025: Problems on Campus and the Mental Health Response
A two-part article from "Frontiers in Mental Health"
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The following two-part article appears in the first issue of “Frontiers in Mental Health,” journal of the Open Therapy Institute. Download the full issue here.
Part 1: By Neil J. Kressel, Ph.D.
Antisemitism is immensely complicated. As journalist Bari Weiss has noted, it is “ a shape-shifting worldview that slithers away just as you think you have pinned it down.” The Jew hater on the right or the left may attack an individual, a people, a culture, or a state. Sometimes the Jews are denounced as capitalists; on other occasions, they are seen as communists. They may be perceived as race contaminators or as the last remnant of an evil and racist colonialism. Theorists have seen the roots of antisemitism in religion, economics, politics, ideology, sociology, and psychology, and—no doubt—all of these forces have been important in various contexts.
In the late 20th century, many sociologists saw antisemitism as a spent force, but in recent years, its immense destructive power has been evident across the globe and even in the United States. Since October 2023, antisemitism has emerged as a particularly significant threat on college campuses, resulting in discrimination against Jewish students and a host of adverse psychological consequences. The ideological climate on campus has also led to poor clinical services for Jewish students. In Part One, I lay out the background; Part Two deals with the implications for Jewish students and their parents.
The Current Moment
Despite the historical prominence of Jews in psychotherapy, quite a few contemporary therapists are ill-prepared to meet the needs of many Jewish clients in the world that has emerged following the Hamas attacks of October 2023. In part, this problem is a consequence of a widespread failure to grasp or acknowledge how rapidly the circumstances of Jews worldwide, in the United States, and—above all—on university campuses have deteriorated in recent years (Kressel, 2024; Walker et al., 2024). Moreover, the ideological predilections of many psychologists and counselors, including some therapists who hail from Jewish backgrounds, have rendered them especially unlikely to provide helpful services at this critical time to Jewish students—in particular, to those who identify religiously or as Zionists. Deficiencies in how the antiracist community has conceptualized antisemitism also contribute to insensitivities, as do some inadequacies in clinical training.
For many Jews in the United States and abroad, the atrocities of October 7th, the murder of hostages, and the perceived abandonment of Israel by the far left have been very personal events with personal consequences. The prominence of the anti-Israel left on campuses where students live and work and the perceived tolerance for antisemitism by some university officials have amplified these consequences for many young Jews. Much research has documented the adverse effects of perceived discrimination on psychological well‑being. Reactions to antisemitism can include anxiety, depression, low self‑esteem, reduced life satisfaction, and feelings of marginalization; there can also be physical symptoms (Hodge & Boddie, 2021; Rosen et al., 2018).
Several weeks after the Hamas attacks, FBI Director Christopher Wray declared that antisemitism was reaching “historic” levels and that “the Jewish community is targeted by terrorists . . . across the spectrum,” including foreign and domestic militants. The United States House of Representatives approved (with bipartisan support) a resolution which condemned support of terrorist organizations and denounced antisemitism on college campuses. Supporting the resolution, Utah Republican Representative Burgess Owens said, “Hateful acts of antisemitism are spreading like wildfire across American college campuses.” President Biden similarly announced his concern about the rise in campus Jew-hatred.
Therapists need not share the political, religious, or ideological views of their clients, but they should be culturally sensitive and aware of basic facts affecting the lives of those they counsel. Many current therapists do not have the necessary background on contemporary anti-Jewish hatred to be helpful.
Recent History of Antisemitism in the United States
Antisemitism in the United States had been intense and widespread in the 1930s, but surveys showed a dramatic drop by the 1970s—and levels remained fairly low for decades. Many Americans expressed positive sentiments about Jews and overwhelming sympathy for Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, perhaps starting about a decade ago, things began to change—at least in some subgroups of the population (Kressel, 2024):
A study of FBI statistics indicated that anti-Jewish hate crimes increased 63% from 2023 to 2024.
Another 2024 study found that, although most non-Jewish students showed no hostility to Jews or Israel, about a third did hold such negative feelings. Almost a quarter of non-Jewish students overall said they didn’t want to be friends with people who supported Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. Many sympathized with Hamas, despite its overt antisemitism and designation as a terrorist group by the United States government.
A 2020 Pew study found that 45% of Jews in the United States thought that there was “a lot” of antisemitism in the country; an additional 47% thought that there was “some”. This finding might capture incidents that aren’t reflected in studies of hate crimes and survey reports.
Antisemitism and the Therapy Professions
Despite all this, antisemitism is not generally addressed in any depth in multicultural materials used to train psychologists, psychiatrists, and others who deliver mental health services (Hodge & Boddie, 2021, 2022). Textbooks and courses in racism and discrimination—sources for many therapists—also tend to ignore or downplay contemporary Jew-hatred (Kressel and Kressel, 2016; Kressel, 2017; 2021). Moreover, according to at least one qualitative study, students who during their training as counselors attempt to raise concerns about the omission of Jews from multicultural modalities can find themselves bullied and ostracized.
While the concept of microaggressions is somewhat controversial, it is widely employed in counseling and psychotherapy contexts. Hodge (2020) lists several categories of microaggressions that specifically relate to Jews: For example, exoticizing Jewish spirituality, assuming uniformity among the Jewish population, sanctioning antisemitic tropes and stereotypes, and denying the existence of antisemitism. A recent German study similarly concluded that Jewish mental health suffers in response to a broad range of antisemitic acts—even those that don’t seem to be major hate crimes.
After the reaction to the 2023 Hamas attacks, some newspaper headlines referred to Jewish feelings of abandonment by the left, which most Jews previously had thought of as allied in the war against hatred. Some writers further charge that neglect of antisemitism may, paradoxically, be strongest in parts of the antiracist and human rights communities (Bernstein, 2022; Kressel, 2017). Speaking about antisemitism associated with the Israel–Hamas conflict, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, claimed that the antisemitic bigots “aren’t neo‑Nazis, or card‑carrying Klan members, or Islamist extremists. They are in many cases people that most liberal Jewish Americans felt previously were their ideological fellow travelers.”
Especially in the aftermath of the 2023 Hamas attack—but also before—journalistic reports asserted that some elite universities had become centers of anti‑Zionist and antisemitic sentiment. Many Jewish students have become so uncomfortable on university campuses that large numbers are now considering campus culture of Jew-hatred in making decisions about where to attend.
Still, psychologists—despite their history of important work on the Holocaust—have devoted astonishingly little attention to contemporary antisemitism. The topic is essentially absent from texts and courses dealing with racism and bigotry (Kressel, 2017). As David Bernstein (2022) has argued, diversity, equity, and inclusion programing excludes it—often on the grounds that Jews are deemed to be privileged within the societal power structure.
Conclusion
Despite the positive opinions that many Americans hold regarding Jews, antisemitism has been increasing rapidly around the world, in the United States, and especially on university campuses. The response of clinical and research psychologists to this growing bigotry has been inadequate, and—as a result—Jewish students are suffering. In Part 2, we will outline the implications for Jewish students and their parents and consider what can be done.
Part 2: By Neil J. Kressel, Ph.D. and Brandy Shufutinsky, Ed.D., LSW
As previously noted, antisemitic incidents have seen a marked increase since the October 7th Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel, with school campuses seeing a significant number of reported incidents. This increase, coupled with the lackluster response by administrators and educators, has serious implications for the mental health of Jewish students and for Jewish parents who must rethink how to support their children as they face Jew-hatred on campuses across the United States.
Mental Health Implications of Current Antisemitism for Jewish Students
Jewish students on campus are likely to find therapists steeped in a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology that frequently downplays the prevalence and virulence of antisemitism (Hodge & Boddie, 2022). Yet during the past year, Jewish students have experienced a host of sometimes devastating problems for which many require counseling and therapy (Kressel, 2024).
Perhaps the most significant psychological stressors are associated with watching the videos documenting Hamas atrocities (Holman et al., 2024). Clinicians and researchers have shown that viewing videos of the murders and sexual assaults of October 7th can frequently result in posttraumatic stress disorder and other forms of intense anxiety. Depression and physical symptoms occur often. The subsequent release of films showing tortured and terrified hostages over a lengthy period has been unbearable for many Jewish students.
The psychological consequences are even more devastating for students with family in Israel and those who identify emotionally with the young people who were brutalized during a peaceful music festival in the desert. Some of the hostages (such as Edan Alexander), after all, are Jews who were raised in the United States. All of this can become intensified and extremely psychologically disorienting for Jewish students who see administrators, faculty, and other students—some Jewish—who do not share their horror at Hamas activities and who may even express sympathy for the perpetrators of the atrocities. Many Jews are frustrated that they cannot convince others that “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the river to the sea” are calls for violence against them. Jewish students who experience symptoms in reaction to the atrocities, the videos, the lack of support, and the active attacks by fellow students and faculty would clearly benefit from psychotherapy provided by sensitive practitioners.
A wide range of problems may stem from the attacks and the responses observed on campuses. There is, of course, some degree of terroristic threat, and while this may not be highly probable, the threat may loom large in the minds of some students. More commonly, issues associated with the reaction to October 7th can cut to the core of student identity, impacting friendships, romantic involvements, and career ambitions. Such concerns can easily become psychologically consuming and a dominant clinical concern for Jewish patients. At the very least, events on many campuses have caused a segment of Jewish students to feel alienated from their universities and various campus institutions. Jewish students may face:
a loss of friendships after October 7th due to political realignment;
exclusion or mistreatment by DEI policies and officials;
a sense that they are targeted by Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) resolutions and—sometimes—a need to switch academic majors away from disciplines that have endorsed BDS (anthropology, American studies, and women’s studies);
if desired, an inability to find supportive LGBTQ+ and feminist organizations (where such organizations are dominated by anti-Zionists);
psychological—and sometimes physical—harassment by pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas campus activists (especially where encampments exist);
exclusion from certain careers (e.g., in the arts, academia, and human rights) where DEI, BDS, anti-Israel, and antisemitic attitudes predominate; and
fears concerning a future where demographics and politics seem likely to make things worse.
All of these issues deserve the attention of sensitive therapists. Unfortunately, many Jewish students worry that they will encounter antisemitic or anti-Zionist therapists who consider the promotion of Palestinian activism as one of their therapeutic goals.
The Implications for Jewish Parents
Failure to address campus antisemitism at the college level reached peak attention after October 7th, especially with the building of Zionist-free encampments and the subsequent congressional hearings. There are numerous media reports of Jewish parents pulling their children out of K-12 schools and either transferring them to other public school districts or enrolling them in Jewish day schools or other private schools.
When Jewish students report antisemitic abuse they’ve faced, the response tends to be gaslighting, which can manifest in multiple ways, including: (a) denying the incident was antisemitic, (b) justifying the incident, or (c) no response. Unfortunately, we’re seeing administrators perpetuating campus antisemitism by actively or passively engaging in it, further victimizing Jewish students and leaving Jewish parents without proper recourse.
Because Jewish people tend to highly value education, antisemitism at schools can be a particularly shocking and painful experience for students and their parents. Often, they feel a loss of connection to these institutions and subsequent grief and confusion about how to continue their pursuit of knowledge.
Many Jewish parents are experiencing a sense of powerlessness. Normal steps taken to address antisemitism are proving to be useless because those systems are not functioning or are actually contributing to the very thing they should be working to address. Responses from Jewish parents vary widely, from strong advocacy to more avoidant styles. Many Jewish parents often attempt diplomacy first, encouraging their children to report the incident, notify the authorities, or not rock the boat. If administrators ignore, minimize, or justify antisemitic incidents, some Jewish parents may tell their children to avoid engaging with the individual(s) who perpetrate the antisemitism, while others may be able to respond more assertively. This variety of responses highlights the importance in individual differences in reaction to the same incident, which clinicians should hold in mind.
Potential Ways Forward
We need to start by learning more about the effects of October 7th, the atrocity videos, the subsequent hostage videos, and the disconnect between Jewish feelings of horror and campus reactions of disinterest and/or opposition to Israel. We need to know how these issues have been playing out in families and for children of different ages. We need a better sense of how clinicians can intervene effectively to help Jewish clients navigate the new psychological and political realities of Jewish life in America. We also need to better understand whether it is possible to change the attitudes of faculty, administrators, DEI professionals, and others who have sometimes shown insensitivity to the psychosocial needs of Jewish students. Finally, it would be useful to identify cognitive and emotional coping strategies for Jewish students (and parents) facing the range of problems identified above.
Conclusion
Therapists who are hostile to Israel or supportive of Hamas in any way should not be treating Jewish clients with any of the needs outlined above. To help these patients find skilled therapists, it may be beneficial for therapists to disclose any strong political opinions. It’s also worth clarifying that potentially helpful therapists do not need to be Jewish, and they do not need to share the political views of their clients. They may provide better counseling by having some rudimentary knowledge about antisemitism, but they certainly do not need to be experts on the topic. An open-minded and supportive attitude toward recent events in this community is a good start.
References
Bernstein, D. L. (2022). Woke antisemitism: How a progressive ideology harms Jews. Wicked Son.
Hodge, D. R. (2020). Spiritual microaggressions: Understanding the subtle messages that foster religious discrimination. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 29(6), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2018.1555501
Hodge, D. R., & Boddie, S. C. (2021). Anti-semitism in the United States: An overview and strategies to create a more socially just society. Social Work, 66(2), 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swab011
Hodge, D. R., & Boddie, S. C. (2022). Are practitioners equipped to work with and advocate for members of the American Jewish community? An analysis of discourse-shaping periodicals. Families in Society, 103(3), 358–369. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894211028807
Holman, E. A., Garfin, D. R., & Silver, R. C. (2024). It matters what you see: Graphic media images of war and terror may amplify distress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(29), e2318465121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2318465121
Kressel, N. J. (2017). The great failure of the anti-racist community. In E. G. Pollack (Ed.), From antisemitism to anti-Zionism (pp. 29–68). Academic Studies Press.
Kressel, N. J. (2021). Why so many social scientists misunderstand contemporary antisemitism. In C. E. Blackmer & A. Pessin (Eds.), Poisoning the wells: Antisemitism in contemporary America (pp. 111–128). ISGAP.
Kressel, N. J. (2024). The psychology of contemporary antisemitism. In T. Nelson (Ed.), Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Kressel, N. J., & Kressel, S. W. (2016). Trends in the psychological study of contemporary antisemitism: Conceptual issues and empirical evidence. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 38(2), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2016.1164704
Rosen, D. C., Kuczynski, A. M., & Kanter, J. W. (2018). The antisemitism-related stress inventory: Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation. Psychology of Violence, 8(6), 726. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000208
Walker, L. E. A., Cole, E., Friedman, S. L., Rom-Rymer, B., Steinberg, A., & Warshaw, S. (2024). The American Psychological Association and antisemitism: Toward equity, diversity, and inclusion. American Psychologist. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001369