♪ welcome to the whole story, i'm anderson cooper. since the october 7th terror attack on israel and the war that followed, there has been a spike on anti-semitic attacks around the world, including in the united states. the fbi recently warned anti-semitism is reaching historic levels. it's data shows jewish americans make up 2.4% of the public, but they are the targets of more than 60% of religious hate crimes recorded in this country. since october, jewish day schools have closed or had to hire extra security, synagogues have gone into lockdown and college campuses in particular have seen a surge in anti-semitic incidents, including some assaults. over the next hour, cnn's dana bash explores the roots of anti-semitism in america and how they've spread. you'll also hear from some who personally experienced threats and attacks in the past month and have started hiding their jewish identity in public out of fear for their safety. >> reporter: sunday, october 29th, in southern russia -- barely three weeks after the october 7th attack on israel by hamas, deadliest day for jews since the holocaust. an angry mob stormed the tarmac and rushed a plane that had just arrived from tel aviv. they were huntining g for jews.. >> t they wereren't sasaying gi ththe e israelelis, , which h w been terririble any waway. they a are yelling where are th jews. where are the jews. that is plain old anti-semitism. >> the u.s. state department special envoy to monitor andnd combat anti-semititism. she was sworn in in n 2022, ami already rising hate around t th world. since the attack on israel, , h has your r role become morore v? > we begagan to see, , first surge and then a spike, then explosion and now a tsunami of ananti-semitism worldwide. inin paris, in london, in germa. inin australiaia, it was g gas jews. geget rid of t the jews. let's hahave a jew-freree zone. it's n not about being pro-hama or anti-israel. it's about anti-semitism. you know how when the yellow light is flashing, anti-semitism is l like that amber light.. and d what it's signalining g i anti-semitism is coming and d is a threatat to democracacy. >> repororter: if anti-semititis a a telltale s sign thatat a d y is t threatened,d, what does i about the united states right now? >> it's disturbing. it's disturbing. >> reporter: this new wave of jewish hatred is causing historicic levelels of anti-sem acts in america. >> we've just never seen a surge like this before. literally we've seen the highest numbers that adl has ever trackeked in termsms of acts o harassmement, vavandalism anand viviolence. 2022 w was thehe wororst year e. and the numbmbers already so hi have exploded since october the 7th. >> reporter: but anti-semitic incidents up nearly 400%, according to adl data. >> while the jewish community is struggling to make sense of that madness that horror, it has been inincredibly paiainful, compoun the grief and the sense of anxiety to see the world turn on the jewish community, to see protesters in n places h here ie united statates attackcking jew people in broad daylylight, vandalalizing, quote, , zionisi busisinesses. i think ifif we try to u unders why y is this happenening in th moment, i think we have seen anti-semitism normalized in recent years. as thahat seseeps intoto t the and sort of poisons the bloodstream, it then allows people to think, oh, it is okay to make it open season on jews. > this past mononth we had d incident reportsts.. therere is no ququestion that t incidedents are e going up. one of thehe thihings we'v've o dr. > reporter:r: mike mamasterse ceo o of the curure commmmunity nenetwork, a a 24/7 commmmand c where ananalysts m monitor dowo the dadark web for t threats agt jews. . >> thihis is the natational l h >> r reporter: i i'm curiousus how mumuch it chananged sisince lastst time e we were hehere. >> r reporter: i i first metet 202222. reporting g on alreadydy distur ririse on anti-semititism inin america. but octobeber 7t7th tookok it t another lelevel. > says active nowow. 31. what does s that mean?n? >> therere are 31 ririsk events occurrining in proxiximity to a jewish proximityty, right t now acrossss the couountry. > how m much more of nonsnsp threats s are you seeingng n no versrsus o october 7thth? >> 149 since octoberer 7th. onon average a month before tha wawas clcloser to 50. those are an individual that is threatening to kill jews. we've had multiple threats of jewish day schools around the country receiving phone calls of individuals saying we're going to come in and kill you and imitatining the sounds of gunfi. indidiana, virginia,a, washingt d.c. and other states. since october 7th. >> reporter: it opened the flood gates? >> it opened the flood gates. >> reporter: and flood waters are breaching the walls of college campuses across the country. >> at harvard university in cambridge, massachusetts -- >> at george washington university, glory to our martyrs among the e messages projected a library wall. >> some of the worst the stanford professor who literally herded jewish students into a corner, humiliating them. the assaulult at uc davis s of jejewish student pututting up posters s of hostageges just toe sure that they are not forgotten and being physically assaulted in the process. a very similar instance at columbia. >> missing persons style posters being torn down. >> no, no, no. >> reporter: the posters of kidnapped israelis have become a flash point. with confrontations going viral on social media. >> he's bothering me. >> show your face. show your face. . >> youou are not alloweded -- >> thehey tear them down becaus they don't see them m as peoeop. they see them as sometething ininferior. they see them as something subhuman. this is the destination where anti-semitism takes you. >> it's children. it's innocent people. >> chihildren in palalestine. >> that is one of f the ththing findnd most disturbing. >> reporter: why? >> these aren't soldiers who were taken in battle. these were civilians who were taken away. these were women who were raped and then taken. these are babies. but to tear down the pictures and to do itit w with susuch an aggressive attitude. it's a form of hate. it's a form of hate. it's a form of contempt for life. >> r reporter: anti-i-semitism, jewiwish hate hahas been p parte fabric of societies for millennia. the difference between that and what we see in modern times is what? >> the difference in t terms of anti-semitism todaday is that i blends a a lot of the trtraditi nonotions of nefariousus jewish power r being used t to takeke advantage e of other peoples wi a very specific anti-z-zionism d anti-i-israel set of narratives. >> jew hatred,d, anti-i-semitis deeplyly baked into not justst western n society y but much o world. it's very hard t to eradicatate. antiti-semitism m has been call the lolongest oror the oldest td with good d reason. so, this sort of let t the lid f fofor many a anti-semitetes for a few decacades. it h hasn't been takenen seriou. peopople have sasaid, well, it't as serioious as racismsm. itit's not as seriouous as homophobia. it's not as serious as misogamy, et cetera. or what you'll often find is amongst university adadministratotors, at leaeast kids, ththey come fromom well hd families.. it's almlmost fallining into t anti-s-semitic trope. jews a are s successful, why ar they comomplained? jews are powerful, why are they complaining? >> call it out for what it is. when george floyd was murdered, it would have been so inappropriate to say, we condemn the racism that was behind this and ththe hohomophobia a and t anti-s-semitism, b but somehowo it comes t to anti-semititism, cocouldn't be calllled out on i own. itit couldn't t stand on itsts >> what dodoes thehe what about do? >> it delutes itit and certain degree rationanalizes s and/or justififies. i i want to o be alslso exexact, criticism of israeli policy is not anti-semititism. but,t, when you question the rit of a jews to a national identityty, whenen you queuesti exexistence ofof a jewish stateu move beyond the political. >> reporter: anti-semitism in the u.s. is now explploding on boboth sides of the political spectrum. in recent history, t the anti-jewish hate that has s exploded into o violence h has from the right, , from right w extremists. what is happenining onon c coll campuseses tends to come f from leleft. >> y yeah. i mean, there's no q question tt the cuculture onon campus,s, wh comes s to a anti-jewishsh sene is coming frfrom left wing grou and alliances that are all built around this demoninization of f israrael. wherere jewish students are tryg to go about living t their live on campus. >> reporter: so when you talk about demoninization of isisrae lolot of progressives s would s you can be anti-isisrael a and anti-sememitic. ththat's not t true anymore.e. >> we have s seen n the linene n anti-israel sentiment and anti-semitism completely crumble. when students have been physically assaulted at university of georgia, at uc davis, at other campuses, no one is askining them a about their s of the israeli/palestinian conflict. this line has completely broken down. >> reporter: as war rages on, there's little hope of domestic attacks letting up. >> the death of a jewish man at duelling protests in southern california is being investigated as a homicide. >> in the last week, we have seen a jewish man assaulted and killed in southern california. we saw a woman try to drive her car into what she thought was a synagogue outside of chicago. these look like outliers until you pull back and you realize, they're actually data poinints a trenend line of intensifying anti-semitism and increasing probability of violence. >> reporter: ahead -- >> it really went from 0 to 100. >> reporter: clashes escalate on american campuseses. ♪♪ >> repororter: new orleans, louisiana. dualaling pro-palestinian and pro-israeli rallies near tulane univiversity turned violent.t. >> thehey were chahanting israe israel, yoyou cacan't hide.. we'll chcharge you with genocid from thehe river to ththe sea. >> reporteter: when yoyou hear the e river to t the sea, what that mean to you? >> they want to wipe us out. they want us gone. they don't want a two-state solution. >> sit the call for the annihilalation of isisrael. anand in a senense the exterminn of the jewish people. >> reporter: tulane students said the protests on oppositite sides ofof the streeeet began peacefully. >> we felt each other's presence. there wasn't really a sense that we were attackcking each other. you know, idealogically at that point. >> reporter: when did it turn? >> they would call us genocide supporteters. we w would say you're supporort genocide a and some ofof thehei support for hamas. you know, they call us -- we call them terrorisist susupport >> y yes, , there were things w shououted back a at them butut really took a turn the second the boy pulled out that flag from the truck. and took out a lighter. >> reporter: violence erupted when a pro-palestinian demonstratoror in the back of a pipickup truckck started t to ln israeli i flag on fire. >> a s student on the jewish si he ran and tried to get back the flag to save it from being burned. there were two kids in the back of the truck. one was holding the israeli flag and one was holding the palestinian flag on a very large pole. once the jewish student was able to retririeve the e flag b back stararted gettining bashed over hehead repeatetedly y with that. and whwhen i i saw that, that'sn i ran in. i was trying to just get him out of the situation. >> reporter: then dillen was beaten and attacked by two older men, he says were not college-aged. >> i was completely blind sided by a man with a megaphone who hit me very viciously over the nose, which broke my nose. i went into compmplete shock. i went deaf for a couple seconds. i went blind. maybe for a second. >> reporter: you're draped in an israeli flag. you're holding a p photo of a j being heheld hostatage in gagaz you're g getting b beaten up. >> thihis wawasn't a pro-hamama ralllly. atat least not in name. this was whahat was called a pro-palestinian rally. and it was still violent. you know, assaulting a jewish person isn't going to free palestine. and i think almost every single jew wowould agagree ththat it i utter trtragedy the amouount of civililians who hahave died in . and while we're thinking that, we're thinking a lot of these people in this crowd who are saying these sensible things are also calling for the destruction of israel for referring to zionism m as genocide.e. and so, when you'r're not t abl seseparate thehe radical ideas the sensible ones, you know, that's when it gets dangerous. >> reporter: in a statement, tulane's president, michael fitz said, we stand against all forms of violence and hate, including anti-semitism, islamophobia and racism. a line was crossed, and we will do everything in our power to ensure it is not crossed again. and we still have much work to do to heal and unite our community. freeee, free palalestine -- >> from m the rivever to t the >> s since octctober 7thth w we seen so o much cononflict bubbl upup on college e campuses acro ththe country.y. for jewish studedents in particulular, they a are goioin trtrauma to traumama. anand most of them felelt incree trauma watching so many innocent israelis slaughtered on october 7th. and while they were mourning that, while they were feeling the threat and fear of what happened, inin many cacases s p they k knew or felt connected d there were mobilizations of anti-israel student groups and other groups coming to campus to turn what had been a mass murder into an opportunity to further demonize israel. >> we've had 148 incididents reported to us on college campuseses since october 7th. that is s an increase of severa hundred percent from the month prior. r tensions on harvard's campus flared when a coalition of student groups signed a letter the very night israeli authorities said civilians were raped, beheaded and burned alive, stating israel was, quote, entirely responsible for the hamas terror attack. on october 31st, student at cornell university was arrested for allegedly posting online he would, quote, bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews. he also allegedly threatened to stab and slit the throat of any jewish males he sees on campus, rape and throw off a cliff any jewish females andnd to beheada jewish babieies. the ststudents mother releasede ststatement saying he had menta struggles. >> we have team members that had been on the cornell campus woworking withth the administra and law enforcement. >> membebers of f your organani are onon the ground at cornell teaching the students how to be more safe? >> yes. >> reporter: the dean of the university of california berkley school of law, who is jewish says he's never seen the level of anti-semitism at universities including among faculty as rampant as it is now. >> i was stunned and saddenenedo sesee statemements online celebrating the hamas terrorist attack. i could read you a few examples. for instance, students for justice in palestine called the terrorist attack, quote, historic win for, quote, the palestinian resistance. a columbia professor called the hamas massacre, quote, awesome. and quote, a stunning victory. chicago art professor posted a note that said, quote, israelis are pigs. savages. very, very bad people. irredeemable exkrement. may they all rot in hell. if this is anything-on-jewish people being killed would people say this? if they did, wouldn't they be widely condemned. >> at george washington university the groups students for palestine anti-semitic tropes outside the library. quote, free palestine from the river to t the sea. glory to our martyrs. . >> imagigine a world i in whici after the murderer of gegeorge d someone e was prprojecting mess like a about protect the police and george floyd was guilty. how offensive would that be? >> reporter: in this case, gw's president said, quote, these images included anti-semitic phrases that caused fear and anxiety for many members of our jewish and broader gw community and we wholly denounce this type of conduct. i went to gw. i'm a proud alum. i studied in that library for fourur years.. i cacan't imaginine e what it f like to o know thahat these hat imagages and fraphraseses were projected d on the oututside oft buildiding. >> t to o see many people sitti there under these projecections wawas very uncncomfortablele an dishsheartening g to see. >> reporteter: a senior at gw, aviv a freshman.n. his s grandmotheher lives inin . > reporter:r: did she c call? >> yeah. >> repororter: what t did she s? >> shehe asked if evererything okay. what's's going on here. and just w want med to explalai her what i i've been seeing on cacampus. and if it't's really as bad as u see it is online. >> reporter: so this is your grandmother, in n ashgelon on t border with gazaza worriried ab you on a collelege camampus in americica? >> yeah. your mom told you to take the jewiwish symbol l that hangs oue the door, your mom t told you t put it insnside. >> yeaeah. did d you? > yeah, i d did. and ththen i also o she asked m change my y name on uberer and r apps t that have m my name o on bebecause my name is isrsraeli by reading it you wowould know m jewishsh. she wawanted me to switch that well j just to be e safe. > i really feel like e we coo college to learn and to meet people who are so different from us. and mamaybe haveve differerent polilitical ideas or who h haven raiseded in a didifferent relig. and riright t now i i feel liki can't t have t those challeneng converersations bebecause i fee if when i share my opinions i will be shut down. >> reporter: unchecked anti-semitism has leled to h hi profile donor backlash at harvard, columbia, the university of pennsylvania and others. >> school for whatever reason can't feel like it can defend israel and attack evil and call out hamas for what it is, the things that they did were evil. and they weren't willing to say it. >> reporter: some of the nations most prominent law firms warned elelite colllleges to crack k d anti-semitism or face recruitment problems. >> the madness has to top and candidly in the case of tulane and elsewhere, we need our university administrators to take control of the situation, to bring some order to this chaos in the way it's being directed against jewish students. >> reporter: we reached out to cornell, columbia, tulane, george washington and eight other universities who have experienced anti-semitism on campus for an interview with the school's president. they all declined. columbia did announce on friday they suspended two pro-palestinian student groups for repeated violation of university policies. >> it's very depressing. it's very depressing. have we failed. >> reporter: what's the answer? >> from what i've seen, we certainly haven't succeeded in critical analytical thinking. something has gone wrong worldwide in higher education. and it's got to be resolved. >> reporter: uk berkley's law school dean says his school has done a lot to address anti-semitism. >> we require all of our law students to go through bias training that includes anti-semitism as well as other forms of bigotryry as well a ase certainly y been willing to exprpress s myself in condndemn ananti-semitisism when i i see . and i think that's important as a dean, as a leader of an educational institution to speak ouout. >> repeporter: whehen we come back -- > antnti-semitism of the har leftft i likenen to climate e c. startsts down herere, gegets ho and hotter.. it creates t the space in n gue what can happen, category 5 hurricanes. >> reporter: are we at a category 5 hurricane on the left? >> you better believe it. ♪ ♪ it seems like a long time ago. it was sold of a golden age for jewish people. >> 2015 and jonathan just began his tenure at the e