American higher education is asking Jewish families to accept a bargain that makes less sense with each passing year. They are being asked to pay more than ever for a college degree, send their children into an increasingly hostile campus environment and trust that the investment will ultimately lead to meaningful career opportunities. The data suggest all three pillars of that bargain are weakening at the same time. As concerns about antisemitism, affordability and career readiness converge, a growing number of families are beginning to ask whether there is a better option. There is. The surprising part is that it has been sitting in plain sight for years. 

The most immediate concern is the one receiving the most attention. According to a 2025 survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, Hillel International and College Pulse, across 135 universities, 83% of Jewish students reported experiencing or witnessing antisemitism since the Oct. 7 terror attacks. Less than half said they felt comfortable with others on campus knowing they were Jewish. For generations, universities promised to expose students to new ideas and perspectives in environments built around intellectual curiosity and mutual respect. Yet many Jewish students now describe calculating when to reveal their identity, where to wear a Star of David and whether speaking openly in class is worth the social consequences. 

Roy Hermoni

University of Haifa.

The challenge facing Jewish students does not end with antisemitism. Even students who never encounter a hostile incident are entering a campus environment increasingly defined by isolation and disconnection. Trellis Strategies found that nearly two-thirds of college students report feeling lonely, making them more than four times as likely to experience severe psychological distress. College was once understood as a place where lifelong friendships, professional networks and a sense of belonging emerged naturally. Increasingly, students are reporting the opposite experience. The result is a generation navigating academic pressure, social fragmentation and uncertainty about the future all at once. 

Those concerns might be easier to tolerate if the economic value of a degree remained beyond dispute. Increasingly, it does not. The cost of attending college continues to rise while confidence in the return on investment continues to fall. According to the College Board, tuition and fees alone at many private four-year institutions now exceed $200,000 over the course of a degree. Public universities remain less expensive but can still cost out-of-state students well over $120,000 before accounting for housing, meals and other expenses. Unsurprisingly, a 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that only 22% of Americans believe a four-year degree is worth the cost if students need to take out loans to obtain it. 

For many Jewish families, these rising costs are not theoretical. Research highlighted by the Jewish Funders Network’s TEN initiative found that nearly 29% of Jewish college students experience financial insecurity. Families are increasingly being asked to spend six figures on an educational experience that may leave students struggling financially before they even graduate. The traditional assumption that a college degree automatically guarantees upward mobility no longer feels as certain as it once did.

 The cost would still be easier to justify if universities were consistently delivering the skills and professional outcomes they promise. Here too, the numbers raise difficult questions. The Council for Aid to Education’s CLA+ assessment found that only 54% of college seniors demonstrated proficiency in critical thinking, analytical reasoning and written communication. These are not specialized skills. They are the very capabilities universities routinely cite as the foundation of a modern education. 

The transition from classroom to career presents an equally troubling picture. According to the 2025 Cengage Employability Report, only 30% of graduates secured jobs directly related to their field of study. Nearly half reported feeling unprepared even to apply for entry-level positions. Separate research from the Burning Glass Institute and Strada Education Foundation found that more than half of graduates are underemployed one year after graduation, working in positions that do not require a bachelor’s degree. At a moment when students are paying record prices for higher education, many are entering the workforce unsure whether their degree provided the skills employers actually need.

This reality naturally leads to a simple question: If the traditional path is becoming more expensive, less welcoming and less certain in its outcomes, where else should students look? Israel, of course.

For years, Israeli universities have offered world-class degree programs, many taught entirely in English, at a fraction of the cost of comparable American institutions. Yet despite the strength of these universities and the opportunities surrounding them, few students have viewed Israel as a serious destination for earning a degree. The academic programs existed. The career opportunities existed. The opportunity itself existed. What was missing was a way to connect them. 

That is why we founded Campus Israel. As the first organization dedicated exclusively to helping Diaspora students discover full English-language degree programs in Israeli universities, Campus Israel serves as the bridge between students seeking a different higher education experience and institutions already delivering exceptional academic, professional and financial value. 

While much of the conversation around higher education remains focused on American campuses, Israeli universities have quietly emerged as some of the most accomplished institutions in the world. The Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion consistently rank among the world’s leading research universities. According to the 2025 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, all three sit among the global academic elite, competing with institutions that American families have long considered the gold standard.

Those rankings are not happening in a vacuum. They are the product of an innovation economy that has become one of the most dynamic on earth. According to PitchBook’s 2025 university rankings, Tel Aviv University ranks seventh globally for producing venture-backed entrepreneurs and first outside the United States. It ranks ahead of many of the most recognizable names in American higher education, including institutions that command tuition prices several times higher than those charged by Israeli universities.

The debate over higher education is often framed as a choice between enduring what exists and hoping it improves. The data suggest a different conclusion. At a moment when many Jewish students feel less secure on campus, families are paying more than ever for a degree and employers are questioning whether graduates are prepared for the workforce, it is worth reconsidering assumptions that have gone unchallenged for decades. The opportunity to earn a world-class degree in one of the world’s most innovative economies has existed all along. The challenge was never the absence of an alternative. It was the absence of awareness. For a generation seeking academic excellence, professional opportunity and a stronger connection to the Jewish future, the answer may not be to fix a broken bargain. It may be to choose a better one. 

Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, and Lisa Barkan are co-founders of Campus Israel.