(RNS) Students advocating for a Palestinian state scream “baby killer” and hit a Temple University Jewish student in the face.
Members of a Jewish fraternity at the University of Oregon awake to find swastikas painted on 11 Jewish students’ mailboxes.
Fliers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, declare that “9/11 Was an Outside Job,” with a large blue Star of David.
These are a few of the rising number of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents at colleges and universities in recent years, according to watch groups that track these trends.
Now the Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the nation’s pre-eminent organizations fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry, has developed a “CombatHateU” app to deal with the problem.
“CombatHateU,” which the Wiesenthal Center recently released with Alpha Epsilon Pi, the nation’s largest Jewish fraternity, allows students to report an incident in the time it takes to text to a friend. The goal is to connect campus authorities, law enforcement and counselors with victims.
“We hope students download it, and we hope they never have to use it,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.
The app “is someplace to go” for students who often don’t know what to do in the aftermath of an anti-Semitic incident, whether it’s verbal, graffiti or a physical assault, said Jon Pierce, spokesman and past president of AEPi. Although young people might not immediately think to call the Simon Wiesenthal Center, college administrators or the police, the app will be right there on their phones, he said.
With the war in Gaza last summer and the rise of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to pressure Israel to leave Palestinian land in the West Bank, came a spike in anti-Israel protests on campuses. Too often, Cooper said, BDS protesters question the right of Israel to exist, hurl anti-Semitic slurs and physically assault Jewish students.
As one University of Maryland student describes in a video produced by AEPi on the subject, anti-Israel protesters have covered campus bathrooms with graffiti and shouted at Jewish students: “Go back to Palestine, you f***in’ Jews.”
Cooper and Pierce said the app is not designed to go after peaceful protesters of Israeli policy, but to flag violent or incendiary speech. “We’re not the thought police about the Middle East,” Cooper said.
To use the app, a student taps the shield in the center of the screen. Questions pop up, asking “when it happened” and “where it happened” and whether faculty, the campus administration, campus police and the media have been alerted. The app also wants to know if Hillel, the largest campus Jewish organization, or other groups have been contacted. A student then hits the “report it” button, and the details are sent to the Wiesenthal Center for evaluation.
In the weeks since the app was first offered, the Wiesenthal Center has confirmed hundreds of downloads, and a half-dozen legitimate reports.
“Most are graffiti-related. All but one have been off campus property near AEPi houses, and a couple have been very serious in that they are swastikas carved into or painted on vehicles,” said Cooper.
Students at the City University of New York, Ohio State, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania are among those who have filed reports with the app, he said.
CombatHateU is modeled after a high school version of the app released earlier this year called “CombatHate,” which was also developed by the Wiesenthal Center. Both apps are free and available for iOS and Android.
Jewish groups are not the only ones using technology to counter hate speech.
After the disputed 2007 Kenyan election, in which more than 1,000 people died in ethnic violence, a group of Kenyan software engineers and bloggers developed an Internet platform that allows instant sharing of violent incidents through Facebook, Twitter and other websites to help communities protect themselves. Its developers called the platform Ushahidi — Swahili for “testimony.”
It has since been adapted for use in other regions.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.