Jewish Student Life at Yale
Beginning in December 2023, the university identified a set of actions to support the Jewish communities on campus.
These actions help foster an environment in which community members with diverse beliefs, perspectives, and cultures have a voice and in which all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome and respected.
An advisory committee helps guide and continue the work already begun to support and enhance student life for our Jewish students. The charge to this advisory committee is shared below.
Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews updated the university community in September 2024 on efforts to foster free expression and peaceable assembly on campus through actions that focus on information and resources, organizational structure and support, and learning and training. The university incorporated advice from the Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life and input from student, faculty, and alumni groups, resulting in some actions that are similar for all communities as well as some that address community-specific needs.
Prior to 2023, the university conducted foundational work in partnership with Jewish community leaders and worked with national Jewish organizations to enhance a supportive campus climate for students and other members of the Jewish community at Yale and to combat antisemitism.
Comments or questions can be directed to university.life@yale.edu.
Page last updated 3/31/26.
University Actions to Improve Jewish Student Life and to Address Antisemitism
Information and Resources
• The Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA) launched a data dashboard to provide data on reported incidents of protected class discrimination and harassment, which is updated biannually.
• University policies and guidelines have been clarified and consolidated on a free expression and peaceable assembly webpage. A companion FAQ page addresses questions from the Yale community relating to free expression and peaceable assembly and will be updated regularly.
Structure and Support
• The university has launched the Free Expression Facilitator Program to strengthen the organizational structure supporting Yale community members engaging in free expression and peaceable assembly activities. A team of specially trained administrators serves as free expression facilitators and supports events, protests, demonstrations, and gatherings in line with university policies and guidelines. Facilitators may work in close partnership with Yale Public Safety as facilitators engage with Yale and non-Yale community members during such activities.
• The university has implemented a doxing policy and will continue to augment existing resources for doxing and other online abuse and harassment by developing additional strategies and engaging internal and external experts to better address doxing and to support those who are doxed.
• The university will continue to expand resources supporting students and all other members of the Yale community impacted by protests, demonstrations, and people exercising free speech and free expression. When free expression crosses the line into discrimination or harassment, the university will respond. Concerns about protected class discrimination or harassment can be reported to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility.
Learning and Training
• To complement the immediate and direct actions described above, the university is also responding in ways that are holistic and long-lasting. Learning and training opportunities on topics such as antisemitism and other prejudices will be available to the Yale community and embedded in the existing training programs of many student, faculty, and staff groups.
For example:
o As of fall 2025, Yale requires all students, faculty, and staff to complete an annual online training on discrimination and harassment. The training has been updated to address Title VI discrimination, with specific examples relating to antisemitism.
o Incoming student and new faculty orientations include presentations on equity and accessibility with specific examples around antisemitism.
o Joint sessions on the Jewish, Arab, and Muslim student experience in relation to antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, and Islamophobia are part of the training for free expression facilitators and Yale Public Safety.
o Starting in 2026, the university offers expert-led training on antisemitism for faculty and student leaders and student support administrators, as well as free expression facilitators and Yale Public Safety.
o Yale Public Safety staff engage in discussions with campus religious leaders about Jewish student life at Yale.
• Opportunities for observational and experiential learning to build skills for constructive dialogue and to strengthen community are available through the many areas of the university, including the Cultivating Conversation initiative, Restorative Practices at Yale, and the Chaplain’s Office.
• In addition to university life resources, the university has increased its investment in academic offerings and scholarship on and preservation of Jewish history, such as the Yale Program on the Study of Antisemitism, the Program in Jewish Studies, the Howard Wexler Brodie ’93 Center for Jewish and Israeli Law at the Yale Law School, and the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale, which continues to bring in leading experts to teach courses relating to Israel and/or the Jewish experience.
Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life
Purpose: This committee is established to help implement and amplify the recommendations of the Yale Antisemitism Climate Group of 2022 incorporated into university priorities and planning and to continue to identify and address issues related to the campus climate for the Jewish student community.
General Scope of Work:
- Advise on the implementation of recommendations made by the Yale Antisemitism Climate Group that have been approved and incorporated into ongoing university planning and processes.
- Collaborate with relevant university offices to evaluate the campus environment for the Jewish student community, including working with the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility and other relevant offices and departments to address incidents of antisemitism.
- Advise on the impact of university policies as they relate to the Jewish community, including educational programs, safety measures and cultural accommodations (e.g., calendaring), and other aspects of university life that may impact the Jewish student community differentially. Members must identify and understand best practices.
- Create and maintain avenues for input and feedback from all members of the community.
- Explore and recommend ways for increased collaboration and dialogue among relevant communities about issues of antisemitism.
Reporting Structure: The committee will report directly to the secretary and vice president for university life as the officer responsible for campus climate initiatives.
Membership: The committee will include members from the original Yale Antisemitism Climate Group and will be expanded to include additional university members as appropriate to carry out the defined scope of work.
Membership term: three years with the option of renewal
Meeting Frequency: The committee will meet at least twice per semester. The chair will have a separate meeting with the secretary and vice president for university life at least once per semester to share insights and establish a focus for the year. Additionally, the full committee will meet with the secretary and vice president for university life at least once a year. Special projects will require additional meeting times.
This committee is entrusted with a vital role in ensuring a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for the Jewish community on campus and is expected to work collaboratively across university communities and within the diverse Jewish community and diligently towards achieving these objectives.