Jewish students sue ‘anti-semitic’ Harvard

HARVARD UNIVERSITY has been sued by Jewish students who accused it of allowing its campus to become a bastion of rampant anti-semitism.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday, six students accused the US school of selectively enforcing its anti-discrimination policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment, ignoring pleas for protection, and hiring professors who support anti-jewish violence and spread anti-semitic propaganda.

“Based on its track record, it is inconceivable that Harvard would allow any group other than Jews to be targeted for similar abuse or that it would permit, without response, students and professors to call for the annihilation of any country other than Israel,” the complaint said.

Harvard, the complaint said, treats Jews as “unworthy of the respect and protection it affords other groups”.

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

They sued the university eight days after Claudine Gay resigned as Harvard president after she came under fire for her handling of anti-semitism in the wake of the Hamas attack on Oct 7 2023. She also faced plagiarism allegations.

Harvard yesterday declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in Boston federal court.

The plaintiffs include Alexander Kestenbaum, who is a student at Harvard Divinity School; five unnamed students at Harvard’s law and public health schools, and the non-profit Students Against Antisemitism.

Other schools that have faced similar lawsuits include New York University, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania.

Academic institutions around the world have been rocked by disputes over free speech and the right to protest since the start of the Israel-hamas war.

In November, the US Department of Education opened an inquiry into Harvard’s handling of anti-semitism, after similar inquiries at other schools.

A House of Representatives panel is also examining Harvard’s handling of anti-semitism.

‘It is inconceivable that Harvard would allow any group other than Jews to be targeted for abuse’