A nearly six-month investigation by outside counsel of that incident and a string of other alleged anti-Semitic incidents on the campuses of the City University of New York has verified the veracity of many of the incidents. However, the report concluded that much of the offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment.

Evan Bernstein, the New York regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he believes the report is evidence that CUNY took the concerns of pro-Israel students seriously.

“One of their next steps is to establish the task force on campus climate [the university announced in May],” he said. “We expect it to come up with concrete initiatives that will help foster a campus where people can pursue their education without fear. For us, this report is a great first step, and the next step is the most important – to change the climate on campus.

“We have amazing programs like Campus of Difference and other anti-bias programs. We hope CUNY uses it or other programs. They need to take it as seriously as they did the initial report. The key is now making sure that students on campus are going to feel they are safe and that moderate sounding voices on campus will drown out their [SJP] hate.”