Illustrative: Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians and hold a rally and march through the Loop in Chicago on Oct. 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Northwestern University in Illinois on Wednesday strongly denounced accusations that it harbors antisemites and pro-Hamas faculty and students, responding to an advertising campaign launched by Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF), a campus antisemitism watchdog, that made such charges.

“Northwestern University is aware of a planned advertising campaign by an outside, unaffiliated advocacy group alleging that the university and president are not taking a strong enough stance against antisemitism on campus,” spokesperson Jon Yates said in a statement. “These are outlandish claims not based on facts, including the claim that student and faculty groups ‘resoundingly support’ Hamas terrorism.”

Yates also defended the university’s record on addressing antisemitism, pointing to President Michael Schill’s creation of a President’s Advisory Committee and the administration’s zero tolerance policy on antisemitism and discrimination.

“Northwestern will not stand idly by as outside groups push false narratives to harm the university and our community,” he concluded.

Yates did not mention that the school’s Middle Eastern and North African Student Association said in a statement after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, in which the terror group murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others, that “we resoundingly support Palestinian resistance to over 75 years of Israeli state-sanctioned violence.”

On Wednesday, Alums for Campus Fairness said it is “exposing” Northwestern University, alleging that the school has deliberately not punished antisemitic behavior on campus. The group plans to air its advertisements online during a streaming of the Las Vegas Bowl college football game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Utes of the University of Utah. Among other things, ACF is demanding that Northwestern adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

The IHRA definition of antisemitism includes examples of anti-Israel bias, such as “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” “denying the Jewish people their right to self determination,” and “applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” It has been adopted by dozens of governments and hundreds of civic institutions around the world — such as the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations — and is supported by lawmakers across the political spectrum.

“By refusing to define and denounce antisemitism, Northwestern is tacitly endorsing the climate of fear and intimidation for Jews on campus,” ACF executive director Avi D. Gordon said in a statement. “Faculty and student groups are openly supporting Hamas terrorism and calling for the genocide of Jews. It’s beyond time for Northwestern President Michael Schill to take decisive action against individuals violating university policy and adopt the internationally accepted definition of antisemitism.”

ACF’s campaign comes amid mounting pressure on college presidents to take a firm stance against extreme anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric. In the past month, at least one president has been ousted from office for failing to do so. After telling a congressional committee that calling for a genocide of Jews would only constitute a violation of school rules in “context-dependent” circumstances, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania resigned after 17 months on the job.

US college campuses have experienced an alarming spike in antisemitic incidents — including demonstrations calling for Israel’s destruction and the intimidation and harassment of Jewish students — since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. Elite universities have been among the biggest hubs of such activity, with students and faculty both demonizing Israel and rationalizing the Hamas atrocities.

Incidents of harassment and even violence against Jewish students have also increased. As a result, Jewish students have expressed feeling unsafe and unprotected on campuses. In some cases, Jewish communities on campuses have been forced to endure threats of rape and mass slaughter.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.