President Donald Trump’s administration has accused Harvard University of failing to protect Jewish students and faculty from antisemitic harassment, threatening to cut off all federal funding to the university.
The government has issued a formal finding accusing Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus.
The big picture: A federal task force investigating Harvard’s handling of antisemitism allegations found that the university was complicit in allowing antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty members.
- The White House has been engaged in a prolonged conflict with Harvard over the issue of antisemitism on campus, with the administration imposing sanctions on the university for rejecting federal demands for governance, hiring, and admission changes.
- The federal task force warned Harvard that failure to implement immediate changes could result in the loss of all federal financial resources, which could impact the university’s ability to receive federal grants and loans for students.
- President Trump has criticized Harvard for its handling of antisemitism but suggested that a resolution to the dispute could be forthcoming, indicating that negotiations may be ongoing between the university and the administration.
- Harvard has refuted the government’s findings, stating that the university strongly disagrees with the allegations of antisemitic bias on campus and is committed to combating all forms of discrimination.
Go deeper: Federal officials conducted a thorough investigation, relying heavily on a campus antisemitism study commissioned by Harvard and released in April. The report detailed instances of antisemitic behavior on campus, including Jewish students being spit on and facing chants of “Heil Hitler.”
- The investigation highlighted incidents during last year’s protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict, where Jewish and Israeli students reportedly felt unsafe due to an impermissible encampment on campus that disrupted their studies.
- The federal investigation concluded that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signaling a significant escalation in the government’s efforts to address civil rights violations in educational institutions.
