THE ISGAP-CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION

Scholarship and International Cooperation in the Study and Combating of Antisemitism 

PREAMBLE 

Scholars, educators, researchers, students, and academic leaders from universities and research institutions around the world convened at the Møller Institute, Cambridge, for the Twelfth Annual ISGAP–Oxbridge Summer Institute for Curriculum Development in Critical Contemporary Antisemitism Studies. We the attendees issue the ISGAP-Cambridge Declaration as a global call to action. 

We gather at a moment of profound urgency. Antisemitism—among the oldest, most persistent, and most adaptive forms of hatred—has reemerged worldwide with alarming intensity, manifesting itself in new forms within institutions of higher learning, political life, media, civil society, and the rapidly evolving digital public sphere. Jewish students and faculty at universities are increasingly harassed on campus. Violence is being normalised on the streets across the world. Its resurgence is not solely a concern for Jewish communities or the State of Israel; it is a measure of the health of democratic societies, a warning of weakening civic institutions, and an assault upon the inherent dignity and equal worth of every human being. 

Where antisemitism flourishes, academic freedom, intellectual integrity, democratic values, citizenship, equality before the law, and public trust are diminished. Institutions of higher learning, whose mission is the pursuit of truth through rigorous inquiry, reasoned debate, and the free exchange of ideas, have too often become environments in which exclusion, intimidation, harassment, and hatred are tolerated and normalized.

The pursuit of truth is the first responsibility of every university. Wherever prejudice supersedes evidence, ideology supplants scholarship, or fear silences inquiry, the fundamental mission of higher education is compromised. 

Antisemitism continues to evolve across historical periods, political ideologies, cultural settings, and technological platforms. Its changing manifestations require sustained scholarly attention, interdisciplinary research, and international cooperation if it is to be understood accurately and confronted effectively. 

Universities remain uniquely positioned to cultivate knowledge, critical inquiry, ethical leadership, and democratic citizenship. We therefore affirm that rigorous, independent, interdisciplinary scholarship—advanced through collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and nations—is indispensable to understanding contemporary antisemitism and to confronting it effectively. 

Accordingly, we affirm the following principles and commitments: 

IN ACADEMIA AND SCHOLARSHIP 

We affirm that the rigorous study of antisemitism, including the emerging interdisciplinary field of Critical Contemporary Antisemitism Studies, constitutes an essential and enduring area of scholarly inquiry. We therefore call for the establishment and sustained support of endowed professorships, research centers, academic institutes, peer-reviewed publications, archives, fellowships, and university curricula devoted to evidence-based scholarship rather than ideology. 

We affirm that the study of antisemitism must remain interdisciplinary, drawing upon all disciplines of scholarship. No single academic field alone is sufficient to understand the complexity, evolution, and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism. 

We commit ourselves to rigorous research examining antisemitism in all of its historical and contemporary manifestations—including religious, racial, philosophical, theological, pseudoscientific, political, economic, ideological, conspiratorial, and digitally mediated forms. 

We commit ourselves to developing and disseminating curricula, teaching resources, faculty development programs, scholarly exchanges, and international research collaborations that prepare future generations of students, educators, and researchers to recognize, analyze, and confront antisemitism with historical accuracy, intellectual rigor, ethical responsibility, and moral courage.

We affirm that academic freedom is indispensable to the mission of the university itself and basic foundational notions of a liberal education. Yet intimidation, harassment, discrimination, or the exclusion of Jewish students, faculty, or researchers—and the corruption of scholarship through prejudice, intimidation, or political coercion—are betrayals and not expressions of genuine academic freedom. 

We therefore call upon universities, governing boards, trustees, faculty senates, academic leaders, accreditation bodies, and educational authorities to adopt transparent policies, consistent standards, and equitable procedures that address antisemitism with the same seriousness accorded to every other form of racism, discrimination, and hatred, while safeguarding freedom of inquiry, academic independence, and open intellectual exchange. 

We encourage universities to strengthen international scholarly cooperation through joint research initiatives, consortiums, faculty exchanges, collaborative publications, student engagement, and sustained partnerships dedicated to advancing knowledge, promoting academic excellence, and preventing antisemitism through evidence-based education. 

IN PUBLIC POLICY, DISCOURSE, AND AWARENESS 

We call upon governments, legislatures, international organizations, educational authorities, publishing houses, and public institutions to recognize antisemitism as a serious threat to democratic resilience, human rights, social cohesion, public safety, and international security. 

We urge that sustained public investment be made in rigorous research, education, prevention, and evidence-based policy initiatives that strengthen democratic institutions and protect vulnerable communities. 

We advocate for public policies grounded in independent scholarship, empirical evidence, and the rule of law. Such policies should advance education, public safety, digital governance, and the protection of fundamental human rights while preserving academic freedom, freedom of expression, and the principles of democratic pluralism. 

We support the responsible adoption and application of internationally recognized working definitions of antisemitism that assist education, scholarly research, public understanding, and the consistent enforcement of existing laws and institutional policies, while safeguarding legitimate academic inquiry, civil discourse, and reasoned debate. 

Recognizing that antisemitism increasingly spreads through digital technologies, social media platforms, artificial intelligence, and other emerging forms of communication, we encourage continued interdisciplinary research and responsible collaboration among scholars, educators, technology companies, governments, and civil society to understand, monitor, and address these evolving challenges while respecting fundamental rights and democratic freedoms. 

We commit ourselves to confronting antisemitism wherever it appears—in political rhetoric, educational institutions, traditional and digital media, social media platforms, public discourse, and civic life. We reject conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, Holocaust distortion, Holocaust inversion, and every effort to normalize, justify, or legitimize antisemitic hatred.  

We commit ourselves to strengthening public understanding through education, historical remembrance, scholarly engagement, intercultural dialogue, and cooperation with all people of goodwill who oppose antisemitism, racism, discrimination, and every form of hatred directed against human beings because of their identity. 

We seek to equip educators, journalists, policymakers, civic leaders, religious leaders, and citizens with the knowledge, intellectual tools, ethical leadership, and moral courage necessary to recognize antisemitism early, respond to it responsibly, and foster societies characterized by justice, mutual respect, democratic participation, and the peaceful coexistence of diverse communities. 

OUR SHARED COMMITMENT 

We resolve to strengthen and sustain an international community of scholars, universities, research institutes, policymakers, educational organizations, governments, international institutions, and civil society organizations working across disciplines, nations, cultures, and faith traditions to advance rigorous scholarship, share educational resources, promote evidence-based public policy, and develop best practices for understanding, preventing, and combating antisemitism. 

We affirm that the pursuit of truth, the protection of academic freedom, and the defense of intellectual integrity are inseparable from the responsibility to confront antisemitism wherever it appears. The study of antisemitism is not only an examination of prejudice directed against the Jewish people, but an indispensable means of understanding the vulnerabilities of democratic societies, the fragility of human rights, and the consequences of hatred for all humanity. 

We affirm that confronting antisemitism is not solely the responsibility of Jewish communities. Rather, it is a shared responsibility of the global academic community and of all who seek to preserve democratic institutions, defend the rule of law, uphold human dignity, and protect the equal rights and freedoms of every person. 

We affirm that defending the inherent dignity and equal worth of every human being, preserving intellectual integrity, strengthening democratic pluralism, and cultivating respectful dialogue across differences are shared responsibilities that transcend national boundaries, political differences, religious traditions, cultures, and academic disciplines.

We therefore issue the ISGAP-Cambridge Declaration not as the conclusion of our work, but as the beginning of a renewed international commitment. We invite scholars, universities, research institutes, scholarly societies, educational organizations, governments, international institutions, philanthropic foundations, and public leaders throughout the world to endorse this Declaration and to join us in advancing rigorous scholarship, responsible public leadership, and informed civic engagement in the enduring struggle against antisemitism. 

With humility, courage, determination, and hope, we pledge to carry this work forward together for the benefit of present and future generations.

Written at the Twelfth Annual ISGAP–Oxbridge Summer Institute for Curriculum Development in Critical Contemporary Antisemitism Studies 

Møller Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom 

August 2026

ENDORSEMENT 

We respectfully invite scholars, universities, research institutes, educational organizations, governments, international institutions, philanthropic foundations, and leaders of civil society throughout the world to endorse the ISGAP-Cambridge Declaration and to join in advancing rigorous scholarship, evidence-based public policy, academic freedom, intellectual integrity, and international cooperation in confronting antisemitism in all of its historical and contemporary manifestations.