Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration on Monday accused Harvard University of violating federal civil rights laws, citing widespread antisemitic harassment and intimidation faced by Jewish and Israeli students on campus.
In a letter sent to Harvard President Alan Garber, the administration said the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services had concluded its investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
“After a thorough investigation, HHS OCR finds that Harvard University is in violent violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” the letter stated.
Federal officials warned that if the university fails to make immediate and adequate reforms, it risks losing all federal financial support.
“Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again,” the administration said.
According to the findings, a majority of Jewish students at Harvard reported experiencing discrimination or bias, and about one in four said they felt physically unsafe on campus.
“Jewish and Israeli students were assaulted and spit on; they hid their kippahs for fear of being harassed and concealed their Jewish identity from classmates for fear of ostracization,” the letter noted.
The administration cited the circulation of antisemitic imagery, including a graphic of a dollar sign inside a Star of David and a sticker that depicted an Israeli flag with a swastika replacing the Star of David. Officials said the campus was also disrupted by protests that broke university rules and featured “calls for genocide and murder.”
The letter criticized Harvard’s response to a multi-week protest encampment in the center of campus, which it said “instilled fear in, and disrupted the studies of, Jewish and Israeli students.” The administration stated that disciplinary action against the students involved was weak and inconsistently applied, noting that none were suspended.
The letter referenced historical parallels, stating that “the failure to face the reality of anti-Semitism can have catastrophic effects,” citing disbelief and denial during the Holocaust as enabling factors.