Harvard must face lawsuit over antisemitism on campus, US judge says

Harvard University failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit in which Jewish students accused the Ivy League school of letting its campus become a bastion of antisemitism.

Without ruling on the merits, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Harvard’s response to on-campus incidents was inadequate, and that “the facts as pled show that Harvard failed its Jewish students.”

Stearns said he was also “dubious” that Harvard could hide behind the argument that some of the challenged on-campus activity was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

Students sued in January, accusing Harvard of selectively enforcing its anti-discrimination policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment, ignoring their pleas for protection, and hiring professors who supported anti-Jewish violence and spread antisemitic propaganda.

Harvard and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for the students did not immediately respond to similar requests.

Stearns found sufficient allegations that Harvard acted with deliberate indifference toward its Jewish population.

“To conclude that the (complaint) has not plausibly alleged deliberate indifference would reward Harvard for virtuous public declarations that for the most part, according to the allegations of the (complaint), proved hollow when it came to taking disciplinary measures against offending students and faculty,” he wrote.

The lawsuit sought an injunction to stop Harvard’s alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars federal funds recipients from allowing discrimination based on race, religion and national origin.

It was filed eight days after former Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned, after coming under fire for her handling of antisemitism following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s invasion of Gaza in response. Gay also faced plagiarism allegations.