Zach Sage Fox, CEO of a production company, and Yechiel Jacobs conducted their experiment in Washington Square Park, New York, approaching students from prestigious institutions including New York University and Columbia University. Dressed in faux fraternity gear with Greek letters approximating "Hamas," the duo spent 30 minutes gauging reactions to their mock recruitment pitch.
The comedians' hidden-camera video, titled "Rush Hamas," shows multiple students apparently agreeing to join the fictitious fraternity. Some even expressed approval when the pranksters mentioned activities such as "protesting synagogues" and "burning Israeli and American flags."
Fox reported to JNS that about half of the dozens of students approached were willing to sign up for the fraternity, despite the comedians explicitly stating that their activities would include harassing Jewish businesses and that proceeds would go towards funding terrorism.
"It was pretty shocking to see how many students were willing to sign up for a Hamas fraternity," Fox told JNS. He expressed particular concern over students' casual acceptance of the phrase "death to America" without objection.
The experiment highlights ongoing concerns about antisemitism on college campuses. Fox believes the video demonstrates how easily some students can be swayed towards anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments, especially when seeking a sense of belonging.
"College students are looking for community when they arrive, and I think our viral video showed just how much young people are willing to tolerate if they think they will be able to make friends and discover a sense of belonging," Fox explained.
The video, which concludes with the message "Antisemitism on college campuses is rampant. We can't end it until we expose it," has garnered significant attention online. At the time of reporting, it had amassed over 250,000 views on X (formerly Twitter) and more than a million views on Instagram.
Voz is Neias and JNS contributed to this article.