Jewish Students Sue Harvard for ‘Enabling Antisemitism’ on Campus
“What is most striking about all of this is Harvard’s abject failure and refusal to lift a finger to stop and deter this outrageous antisemitic conduct”
Anyone who has been paying attention over the last several months would find it extremely difficult to disagree with this.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Jewish Students Say Harvard Has Enabled Antisemitism on Campus
A group of Jewish students sued Harvard University, saying it allowed the school to become a bastion of antisemitism.
The six students said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Massachusetts federal court that they felt unsafe on campus because Harvard didn’t punish antisemitic student protesters and faculty members.
Harvard has been embroiled in controversy since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. Pro-Palestinian students have repeatedly protested on the Cambridge, Mass., campus. Its former president, Claudine Gay, drew criticism for initially failing to condemn Hamas after its attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and later resigned in part over the furor.
Universities across the U.S. have been divided by the war. A wave of pro-Palestinian protests have swept schools, with demonstrators saying they believed the war was a fight between the oppressed and their oppressors. Schools have struggled with how to balance protecting Jewish and Muslim students from harassment while committing to free speech.
Federal education officials have opened investigations into Harvard and several other colleges for race- and religion-based harassment since the war began. A House committee is investigating Harvard over anti-Jewish activity.
Harvard declined to comment Thursday. Gay said in November the school was “examining how antisemitism manifests within our community and crafting a plan that addresses its complex history.”
Lawyers for the students didn’t return a request for comment Thursday.
The students’ lawsuit said Harvard has allowed students to carry out antisemitic protests and let professors intimidate students who object to antisemitism in the classroom. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Alexander Kestenbaum, a master’s student in the divinity school, and five unnamed students in the law and public health schools.
The lawsuit said Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars programs that receive federal funding—including Harvard—from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. They also said the school wasn’t enforcing its own nondiscrimination policy.
“What is most striking about all of this is Harvard’s abject failure and refusal to lift a finger to stop and deter this outrageous antisemitic conduct,” the lawsuit said.
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Comments
Good.
Gradually, and then suddenly.
Harvard bringing islamofascist terror to american colleges.
Guilty as charged.
How about a link to the lawsuit? I saw it elsewhere and the allegations therein are must reading for what is happening on that campus
For those interested read this https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/2024-01-10-001-Complaint.pdf
I just read the complaint filed against Harvard. It’s very impressive. I do, however, have a suggestion regarding the prayer for relief. It doesn’t request the appointment of a special master to oversee Harvard’s compliance with any judgment to be entered against it. Getting Harvard to voluntarily comply with a judgment entered against it will be difficult at best. Many civil rights cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against police departments have, for example, obtained the appointment of a special master to oversee enforcement of the judgment. For instance, a special master was appointed to oversee the Seattle Police Department’s compliance with the judgment against it. Hopefully, counsel for the plaintiffs in the Harvard case will consider the possibility of having a special master appointed.