Harvard University agreed to settle a major antisemitism lawsuit just one day after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to remove funding and accreditation for schools fostering anti-Jewish discrimination.
The plaintiff in the civil rights lawsuit, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, claimed the school demonstrated a “deliberately indifferent” approach to combatting “Jew-hatred” on campus.
“We are heartened that Harvard has agreed to take numerous important steps necessary to creating a welcoming environment for Jewish students,” Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth Marcus said. “When fully and faithfully implemented, this agreement will help ensure that Jewish students are able to learn and thrive in an environment free from antisemitic hate, discrimination, and harassment.”
Marcus, who served as assistant U.S. secretary of education for civil rights in the first Trump administration, added, “We thank those within Harvard, including administrators, faculty, students, and alumni, who have worked tirelessly to achieve this result. In turn, we look forward to working with Harvard on the important work in this agreement to ensure that the rights of all students are protected.”
As part of the settlement, Harvard agreed to incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and apply this definition to the school’s nondiscrimination and antibullying policies.
Under the new policy, prohibited conduct includes excluding Zionists from events, using stereotypes or conspiracies about Zionists, and harassing others over their position on Israel or Zionism.
Harvard will additionally create an annual report for the next five years to document the school’s responses to discrimination, including but not limited to antisemitism. It will also invest in academic resources to study antisemitism, establish an official partnership with an Israeli university, provide opportunities for the Brandeis Center to host campus events, and allow three Harvard Kennedy School alumni to host an event about Israeli Jewish democracy.
There are also undisclosed monetary terms involved in the settlement.
If Harvard did not settle the lawsuit, which was filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the school would be at the mercy of the Trump administration. Frederick Hess, senior fellow and director of education policy studies for the American Enterprise Institute, previously told the Washington Examiner that Trump would likely put enormous pressure on schools being investigated on similar grounds to settle during his second administration.
Otherwise, he said, they could lose billions of dollars in funding for important research.
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“Today’s settlement reflects Harvard’s enduring commitment to ensuring our Jewish students, faculty, and staff are embraced, respected, and supported,” a Harvard spokesperson said in a statement.
“We will continue to strengthen our policies, systems, and operations to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate and ensure all members of the Harvard community have the support they need to pursue their academic, research and professional work and feel they belong on our campus and in our classrooms,” the spokesperson added.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
