Plot Summary

A firestorm has been raging on many American college campuses. Ignited by the devastating October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the catastrophic war in Gaza, the outrage deeply divided American campuses and in some places devolved into hate-filled rhetoric and arrests. FRONTLINE and Retro Report have been following the escalating turmoil since the war began — talking to people on all sides of the divide, investigating how universities have responded, how powerful interests joined the fray, and how the conflict over the conflict ultimately spiraled out of control. From director James Jacoby (Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza, Amazon Empire, Age of Easy Money) and Retro Report producers Scott Michels and Joseph Hogan, Crisis on Campus examines how the debate over one of the world’s most intractable and complex conflicts has gripped American college campuses.