Overview

• At least 300 students were placed on registration holds for declining to complete a required antisemitism module, which Northwestern says is standard enforcement of mandatory trainings.
• Students are required to watch anti-discrimination content, including separate modules on antisemitism and on anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias, and to attest to campus conduct policies without endorsing the materials.
• The 17-minute JUF-produced video defines anti-Zionism as opposition to Jewish self-determination, shows a map including the Golan Heights as part of Israel, and pairs quotes from activists with quotes by David Duke, drawing objections that it conflates pro-Palestinian activism with extremism.
• More than 200 students, graduate workers, alumni, staff, faculty, and parents signed an open letter calling the training biased and urging the university to halt its use and refrain from penalizing objectors.
• University officials say students received repeated reminders over several months, and reporting indicates the vast majority of Northwestern’s roughly 22,000-plus students completed the trainings.