The US government has accused Harvard University of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students, threatening to cut off all federal funding to the institution. A federal task force investigation concluded that “Harvard has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff”. The task force also found that the majority of Jewish students at Harvard felt they suffered discrimination on campus, while a quarter felt physically unsafe.
In a letter sent to Harvard president Alan Garber, the federal task force stated that “failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government”. However, the letter did not specify what reforms Harvard needs to implement to avoid losing funding.
Harvard University has pushed back against the allegations, saying it has taken “substantive, proactive steps” to combat anti-Semitism on campus and has made “significant strides to combat bigotry, hate and bias”. The university remains “committed to ensuring members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard”.
The Trump administration has been scrutinizing Harvard University over alleged anti-Semitism on campus, particularly in the context of protests against Israel’s war on Gaza. The administration has frozen $2.5 billion in federal grant money to Harvard, moved to block it from enrolling international students, and threatened to remove its tax-exempt status. Harvard has rejected these demands and sued the administration, calling its actions “retaliatory” and “unlawful”.
This controversy is part of a broader trend of the Trump administration targeting universities over diversity initiatives and alleged anti-Semitism. The University of Virginia president recently stepped down amid scrutiny over diversity initiatives, and the University of California system is facing a probe into its hiring practices.