Brianne Garrett

Boston University

Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this article included a photograph of students in the Drake University Hillel House. It was removed because that institution and the students in the photo are not quoted or included in the story.

Kat Kolin, a Boston University freshman, wants to set the record straight: "I am Jewish. I am not a Zionist."

Some think "Jewish" and "Zionist" are synonyms, but there's a difference. People who identify as Jewish practice or adhere to the Jewish religion -- some primarily or only culturally as opposed to practicing the faith. According to the World Zionist Organization, "Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a legally assured home" in the land of Israel. In other words, the basic difference is that Judaism is a religion and a culture, and Zionism is a nationalist movement.

According to Kolin, people often assume that being Jewish means being a Zionist, which she says is definitely not the case. Why does it matter? Because of this assumption, Kolin recalls various instances of being harassed by pro-Palestinian students on BU's campus, who automatically assume she is the enemy.

But Kolin says she actually agrees with some of the opinions of the Students for Justice in Palestine.

"I was even interested in joining their organization, but it really seemed like they didn't want me," she added.

Kolin is among the high number of students experiencing hostile behavior and backlash on their campuses for being Jewish. A 2014 study by Trinity College found that over half of Jewish college students have experienced anti-Semitism on their campus.

The Jewish community ushered in the new year in October, and many Jewish students across the country have a common resolution: Fighting swelling anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism on campus is on the rise

Anti-Semitic activity on U.S. campuses continues to be on the rise. A 2016 study conducted by the AMCHA Initiative, an organization that seeks to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses, found the number of incidents involving “the suppression of Jewish students’ freedom of speech and assembly” doubled from last year.

“We’re really concerned for this new year,” said Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, AMCHA's cofounder and director. "(Anti-Semitic behavior) really tends to completely shut down and obliterate the presence, the opinion and the safe space for one particular group. It’s not a matter of incivility, it’s a matter of intolerance."

As reported by Newsweek, more than a dozen Jewish student events were violently disrupted this year at schools coast to coast, including Boston University, University of Maryland and University of Florida. And on the University of California campuses, anti-Semitic graffiti reading, “Zionists should be sent to the gas chamber” has appeared on the walls of buildings, and a UCLA student's impartiality on a judicial board was questioned due to her involvement in the Jewish community.

The AMCHA study found campuses that have an active Students for Justice in Palestine chapter are seven times more likely to have incidents targeting Jewish students, Rossman-Benjamin said. A Brandeis University report also found that universities in New York and California are "hotspots" for this type of activity.

"Jewish students are marked as being Zionist unless they specifically stand up and say otherwise," Rossman-Benjamin said. And when it comes to Jewish students, she says, “Nobody stands up for them.”

Here’s what groups are doing to try to change that on three campuses in the U.S.

SUNY Albany:

At Albany, Jewish students makes up about 30% of the undergraduate population. But the school has seen various cases of anti-Semitism on its campus.

Last year at a "From Ferguson to Palestine" protest, a Jewish student supporting the protest held up a sign that read "Black Lives Matter" and wore an Israeli flag. Various anti-Israel students -- labeling the student as Zionist -- later took a photo of him and turned it into a sarcastic meme that read: "Zionists be like: We like black people" and according to the Times of Israel, the protesters forbade the student from participating in the protest, accusing Israel of racism.

Related: Pro-Palestine students protest Univ. of Maryland IsraelFEST

The Times of Israel also reported that the student, Jordan Attias, identified as the president of a campus Jewish club, stated afterwards that he wanted to show that "you can support Israel and be against racism in America."

"There is a fine line between legitimate criticism of Israel as a political entity, and language that plays into age-old anti-Semitic tropes," said Austin Ostro, current president of Albany's Hillel group, UAlbany's chapter of the largest national campus organization for Jewish students in the nation. "When the line gets crossed, it's important to call it out."

Ostro believes one of the best ways to combat intolerance is to connect with other religious and groups on campus, including the Muslim Student Association, Catholic Association and other clubs for Hispanic and black students.

"Hillel is working on building bridges with other cultural groups so that the Jewish community will be seen as a member of the multicultural community on campus," Ostro told USA TODAY College. "We believe that building bridges in this respect will be helpful should incidences of anti-Semitism occur on campus."

Ostro says the year is off to a good start for the UAlbany Hillel chapter, with a record-breaking number of applications from new students looking to join this semester.

Boston University:

At BU, 30 members of Boston's Students for Justice in Palestine protested a festival celebrating Israel Independence Day last April, hosted by the Boston University Hillel and BU Students for Israel. Protesters held up signs that read "Zionism = Racism" and claimed that the festival was offensive to Palestinians.

Seth Warshaw, campus legislative coordinator for BU's Terriers for Israel, says education and outreach are useful for addressing such criticisms.

Terriers for Israel has become particularly active within the last year, making efforts to manage a more active social media presence and build a connection with BU's student government.

"Our goal in both of these forms of outreach is the promotion of discourse and educating people on the conflict," Warshaw said.

This semester, the group started a weekly tradition called #FridayReads in an effort to open up discussion to the entire BU community -- and build bridges.

"Whether you’re anti-Israel, a progressive supporter of Israel or a conservative supporter of Israel, it is not our job to decide whose opinion is valid and whose isn’t," Warshaw said. "I hope to see people on all sides of the issue interact with each other because discourse is the only way to make progress."

Stanford University:

Members of the Stanford community held a rally last April against anti-Semitism, gathering nearly 100 people to address some major concerns of Stanford's Jewish students.

The Stanford student body passed a resolution against anti-Semitism the same month. The resolution acknowledged the victimization of Jewish students at the school and promises annual anti-Semitism awareness seminars as well as funding for events that aid the Jewish community and other groups on campus.

But David Kahn, president of the Jewish Student Association, believes that education through small- scale events is more effective. He is concerned that large public rallies like the one last spring can create a "polarizing" effect and lose some effectiveness.

"Following through with this initiative and creating education opportunities for the broader campus community is my top priority on this front," Kahn said.

What now?

Rossman-Benjamin said schools should continue addressing issues of anti-Semitism among students and staff.

"Ultimately, this kind of acknowledgement about anti-Semitism needs to happen across the country," she said. "I think it will go a long way to actually turning this thing around. It’s going to take time."

Brianne Garrett is a Boston University student and a USA TODAY College correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.