Harvard sued over alleged anti-Semitic mob assault, refusal to discipline attackers
A former Harvard Business School student has filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging anti-Semitic discrimination and institutional misconduct following an on-campus assault.
Yoav Segev, the plaintiff, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Harvard and the Harvard University Police Department on July 17.
A former Harvard Business School student has filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging anti-Semitic discrimination and institutional misconduct following an on-campus assault.
Yoav Segev, the plaintiff, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against Harvard and the Harvard University Police Department on July 17.
Segev, who is Jewish, claims he was physically attacked by “an antisemitic mob of students and student-employees” on Oct. 18, 2023.
“As videos of the attack show, dozens of rabid protesters surrounded Mr. Segev, grabbing and pushing him, and using keffiyehs to block him as he tried to escape and as he implored them to leave him alone,” the complaint states. The crowd allegedly yelled “Shame!” at Segev “for being Jewish and Israeli,” according to the document.
The lawsuit accuses Harvard of failing to discipline the students involved despite criminal charges and video evidence. “Harvard refused to take any reasonable action to punish the assailants or to redress the victim, Mr. Segev,” the complaint states.
Segev further claims the university obstructed a criminal investigation by instructing campus police to stop investigating. The assistant district attorney involved was “shocked” by Harvard’s refusal to cooperate, according to the filing.
The 129-page complaint outlines broader allegations of anti-Semitism at Harvard, citing a “hostile educational environment” and a “pattern and practice of institutionalized antisemitism and mistreatment of Jewish students.”
Two student activists caught on video assaulting Segev have not faced hate crime charges or been required to issue an apology, The Algemeiner reports.
Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton told The Harvard Crimson that the institution “remains committed to combating antisemitism [and] enforcing our anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies at all times.”
“Harvard has acted with deep concern for supporting our Jewish and Israeli students and will defend the University against these claims,” Newton added.
Campus Reform has reported that Harvard has previously been sued by Jewish students who have made similar claims. One suit, filed in 2024 by Students Against Antisemitism, described Harvard as “a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.”
Throughout 2025, the Trump administration has frozen grants to Harvard over anti-Semitism concerns, including $60 million in Department of Health and Human Services grants canceled in May.
In June, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism declared Harvard to be in “violent violation” of Title VI for failing to eliminate anti-Semitism on its campus.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” the task force stated at the time.
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
