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(RNS) — James Henry Brook, a rising high school senior from Birmingham, Alabama, had long planned on applying to the joint program run by Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

That changed after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, and the many antisemitic incidents and calls for violence against Jews and Israel on and around the Columbia campus. “JTS/Columbia was a university that I wanted to apply to, and I know people who are current students at JTS,” said Brook, who recently made the round of college campuses. “The protests at Columbia are one of the main reasons why I am not interested in Columbia anymore.”

Today, Brook is seriously considering Southeastern Conference schools such as Texas A&M and Mississippi State “because of sports and because there has been little to no antisemitism that I have found,” he said.

Wherever he ultimately goes, said Brook, antisemitism has become “a major factor” in his choice of college. 

Brook is in good company.

A poll conducted in mid-March on behalf of Hillel International, the world’s largest Jewish campus organization, found that 96% of families of Jewish high school students are concerned about the increase in college campus antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, and 84% said they are talking to their child about how to handle antisemitism on campus. RELATED: Union Theological Seminary votes to divest from companies profiting from Gaza war

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the families said they have eliminated colleges and universities due to fears of antisemitism.

A student wrapped in an Israeli flag listens to pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on campus at the University of Texas at Austin, April 30, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Antisemitic incidents have soared at dozens of college campuses during the past few years, but since the Hamas attack and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war, such attacks have risen 700%, according to Hillel, the Jewish campus organization. Jewish students have been subjected to “harassment, assault and vandalism” on numerous campuses, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which has created Not on My Campus, a list of questions Jewish students should ask when considering a college.

The ADL has also tracked the impact of the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Mezuzahs have been torn off the doorposts of Jewish students’ dorm rooms and swastikas have been painted on dorm walls. Protesters have tried to prevent Jewish students from accessing swaths of their campus and from attending religious services.

At some schools, the ADL said, students are demanding that their colleges ban Jewish organizations such as Hillel, which organizes Shabbat services, kosher food and Jewish programming; divest from charitable organizations that fund Jewish activities and academic research; and ban all “Zionists” from campus — meaning all Israeli students, academics and guest lecturers, and anyone — Jewish or not — who believes that Israel has a right to exist.

The ADL’s Antisemitism Report Card gives failing grades to Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Michigan State and Northwestern, among others; and a “D” to Yale, Princeton, Rutgers, Cornell and several University of California campuses. 

A student protester against the war in Gaza walks past tents and banners in an encampment in Harvard Yard, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

From the start of the war, Jewish students and their parents have taken note as well. Founded in late October in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel, the Facebook group Mothers Against College Antisemitism quickly attracted close to 60,000 members.

Alycia Hochberger, an independent college counselor in Massachusetts, said several of the families she advises recently dropped Columbia and other colleges from their wish lists.

On the plus side, said Hochberger, “Brandeis has extended their transfer application deadline, and Providence College in Rhode Island has said that if you’re Jewish and feeling unsafe on your campus, we’ll make accommodations for you.” One of Hochberger’s students was waitlisted at Syracuse University but opted for Indiana University “because it quashed the protests.”

Hochberger has also started discussing Christian universities such as Loyola in Chicago and Boston College with some of her Jewish clients because their administrators have not welcomed Columbia-style protests. At Boston College, a one-hour anti-war protest was permitted, but without tents or loudspeakers.

Barak Moore, an independent SAT/ACT tutor who lives in Israel, said Israeli students’ interest in studying in the U.S. has gone down to some degree. “I know of cases in which students who were on the fence about going have now decided against it. Plus, it has dramatically affected which schools Israelis are choosing,” he said.

Moore said his twin sons, both students at MIT, have been “negatively affected” by antisemitism on campus. “MIT deserves the ADL report card grade of ‘F,’” he said.

A passer-by, right, walks through a pro-Palestinian encampment of tents, April 25, 2024, on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

With many college decisions, especially at premier colleges, locked up in late fall via early admission, some students who selected their schools before the protests gained steam now regret their decisions.

“I applied and committed to a Ph.D. program before everything blew up,” said Sasha Manus, a Jewish biomedical sciences student who will be attending the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University of Buffalo in the fall. “In my heart of hearts, I want to defer my matriculation until next year; but I can’t. I have to move forward in my life.”

Manus and many other Jewish students are worried about their personal safety on campus.

“In April, a student threatened to ‘shoot up’ a Jewish Student Union march on Buffalo’s North Campus,” said Manus. “I look like a stereotypical Ashkenazi Jew, and I have an obvious disability. I will be the easiest target for a radicalized student on that campus, and I live aware of it. I can only hope that things settle down before the fall.”

It appears that even some non-Jewish families have also been turned off by what they’re seeing on college campuses. RELATED: Brandeis invites Jewish students to transfer in response to campus protests

“While we respect the right to peacefully protest, there were demonstrations on college campuses that severely crossed the line,” said Michael Giaconelli, a Christian whose daughter will be graduating from a New York high school later this month. “People do not have the right to threaten, intimidate or intrude on the rights of others. The reports of Jewish students being threatened and made to feel unsafe on campus is appalling.”

After careful consideration, Giaconelli’s daughter chose a school “that had no reports of any pro-Hamas or anti-Jewish” activities. “I could never support sending one of my children to schools like Harvard or Columbia, where they allow radical ideology to run wild,” he said.

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Oilers forward Hyman injured in 1st, exits Game 4

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Oilers forward Hyman injured in 1st, exits Game 4

EDMONTON, Alberta — Edmonton Oilers‘ top-line forward Zach Hyman was ruled out for the rest of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday against the Dallas Stars after taking a hit from forward Mason Marchment, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported on the game broadcast.

The first-period collision appeared to immediately rattle Hyman, who dropped his stick and seemed to favor his right arm or wrist. Hyman went directly to the Oilers’ dressing room and did not return.

Hyman has been a key member of the Oilers’ postseason success, registering a league-leading 119 hits in 14 playoff games and scoring five goals and 11 points. He’s a fixture on the team’s top forward unit with Connor McDavid and is part of both the Oilers’ power play and penalty kill.

Edmonton was already down a forward going into Game 4 with Connor Brown sidelined after a hit from Dallas defenseman Alexander Petrovic in Sunday’s Game 3. Viktor Arvidsson returned to the lineup as Brown’s replacement on the fourth line.

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Referee Rooney returns, 11 days after high stick

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Referee Rooney returns, 11 days after high stick

EDMONTON, Alberta — NHL official Chris Rooney was back on the ice Tuesday night for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.

It was the veteran referee’s conference finals debut, and a fitting return for Rooney given the circumstances. It was Rooney’s first game since he took a high stick to the face on May 17 during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference second-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.

Rooney was injured 13 seconds into the second period when Panthers’ defenseman Niko Mikkola caught him with the end of his stick while fighting for a puck. Rooney fell to the ice and was tended to by trainers from both teams.

While bloodied, he was able to leave under his own power. Rooney sustained a black eye and received stitches for his injury but had no lasting damage. He was replaced at the time by Garrett Rank, in the building on standby in case on injury.

It was clear even the day after his injury that Rooney, 50, hoped to resume duties at some point in the playoffs. The Boston native was finally able to step in for Game 4 with fellow referee Dan O’Rourke.

The pair was joined by linesmen Ryan Gibbons and Matt MacPherson. Referee Graham Skilliter and linesman Ryan Daisy were in the building as alternates.

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Hintz (leg) back in action, joins Stars’ top line

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Hintz (leg) back in action, joins Stars' top line

EDMONTON, Alberta — Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz is back in the lineup for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday.

The club’s top skater, sidelined since Game 2, when he took a slash to the left leg from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, was placed on the top line, alongside Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen after taking warmups and line rushes prior to puck drop.

Hintz also took part in warmups before Game 3 on Sunday but exited early and was ruled out. He was back on the ice for Dallas’ optional practice Monday and told reporters he was “feeling good” and “trying to do everything I can” to get back in for Game 4.

It was early in the third period of Game 2 when Hintz — parked in front of the Oilers’ net — shoved Nurse from behind, and the Oilers’ blueliner responded by swinging his stick at Hintz’s leg. Hintz went down to the ice for several minutes before being helped off by Lian Bichsel and Mikael Granlund.

Nurse received a two-minute penalty for the slash but no supplementary discipline from the league. The blueliner addressed the incident publicly for the first time Tuesday, saying it didn’t come with malicious intent.

“I was backing up to net and I got shot in the back. And I think it was just a natural reaction [to respond],” Nurse said. “It’s probably a play that everyone in this room, whether you’re a net-front guy or D man, probably happens a dozen, two dozen times in a year. It’s unfortunate that I must have got [Hintz] in a bad spot. You don’t want to go out there and hurt anyone. But it was just one of those plays that happens so often.”

Having Hintz unavailable hurt the Stars in Game 3, a 6-1 drubbing by the Oilers that put Dallas in a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven series. Hintz is the Stars’ second-leading scorer in the postseason, with 11 goals and 15 points through 15 games. He was hopeful when taking warmups Sunday that he’d feel good enough to get back in, but a quick discussion with the training staff made it clear he wasn’t ready.

Before Tuesday night, coach Peter DeBoer had since classified Hintz’s status as day-to-day.

“Of course you want to go every night, but sometimes you just can’t,” Hintz said. “I don’t know how close I [was to playing]. But I have played many years [and I] know when it’s good and when it’s not. I should be good to know that [when] it comes to that decision.”

The Oilers will have some lineup changes of their own to sort through in Game 4. Connor Brown, who is out after taking a hit from Alexander Petrovic in Game 3, will be replaced by Viktor Arvidsson. Calvin Pickard, injured in Edmonton’s second-round series against Vegas, will return to back up Stuart Skinner. And Edmonton continues to wait on defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who is getting closer to returning from a lower-body injury.

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