Anti-Israel protesters target Hillel: A disturbing shift toward open antisemitism

When anti-Israel activists disrupted a Columbia University event last Thursday at the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, featuring Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, the attacks took a deeply personal tone. Protesters referred to Ravid as a "henchman of genocide" and criticized Jewish benefactor Robert Kraft, for whom the building is named.

The incident, part of a growing trend of targeting Hillel centers and their donors, drew sharp condemnation from antisemitism watchdogs.

Shira Goodman, vice president of advocacy and national affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, told Jewish Insider, “We are seeing an increasing number of protests where Hillel, Chabad on Campus, and prominent Jewish donors are being named directly. It’s a worrying shift.”

Goodman highlighted the broader context, noting that calls to defund or disassociate from Hillel intensified earlier this year during nationwide anti-Israel campus protests.

“They often frame it as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist rhetoric,” Goodman explained, “but in reality, they are targeting the centers of Jewish life on campus—places where students gather to eat, pray, and connect, often unrelated to Israel. To us, it appears blatantly antisemitic.”

The protest, organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, included dozens of demonstrators outside the Kraft Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Holding signs reading “Abolish Birthright Land Back” and “Robert Kraft, Your Hands Are Red,” the group circulated flyers urging the university to “sever all ties with Hillel.” A flyer handed out at the event reportedly mocked the Kraft Center with the message, “Don’t get us started on the Kraft Center.”

* The Jewish Insider contributed to this article.