An artificial intelligence-aided analysis found that more than half of professors teaching about Judaism and Israel at American colleges and universities have publicly signed statements or petitions supporting boycotts of the Jewish state or describing it as "genocidal" Or "apartheid."
The audit, conducted by The Olam - a site run by public relations executive Ronn Torossian - examined 2,499 faculty listings across 313 universities. Researchers cross-referenced the listings with documented public petition campaigns and membership in organizations including Faculty for Justice in Palestine. The research was conducted in July and early August.
Among the 1,014 professors (40.5%) who teach Jewish, Israel or Holocaust studies or Hebrew, 401 (39.5%) have signed public anti-Israel statements. The percentage rose to 51.9% when professors from related departments - including religious studies, history, political science and Middle Eastern studies - were included, totaling 1,298 of the 2,499 professors surveyed.
Universities with the highest numbers included UCLA (44), Columbia University (41), Princeton University (35), Pennsylvania State University (32), and New York University (31). Other institutions with significant counts included Yale University, University of Chicago, Brown University, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and University of Washington, along with University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and Cornell University.
The audit states it excludes professors who have merely criticized Israeli government policies and includes only those who signed public statements denying the Jewish state's right to exist.
"The people paid to teach Judaism, Hebrew, Israel and the Holocaust are against the Jewish state itself," Torossian said.
Miriam Elman, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network, cautioned that signing a statement does not necessarily indicate prejudicial teaching. "Signing a document doesn't mean these faculty are hostile to Jewish students in or outside of the classroom," She said. She noted that her network includes 1,300 pro-Israel professors at 350 campuses across the United States and that most of the nation's 4,000 accredited colleges and universities have no anti-Israel problems.
Torossian's background includes previous controversy. New York Attorney General Letitia James cited him as an officer of Betar U.S. In a settlement following an investigation into what her office characterized as a "campaign of violence, harassment and intimidation." Betar denied all wrongdoing. Also, the World Zionist Congress expelled Torossian for "aggressive, hateful tone and vulgarity" But later reinstated him.