House committee finds Harvard leadership showed 'pattern of inaction' in fighting anti-Semitism
Harvard University continually showed a lack of action toward fighting campus anti-Semitism after the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack, according to a House of Representatives committee report.
Harvard University continually showed a lack of action toward fighting campus anti-Semitism after the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack, according to a House of Representatives committee report.
The report, made by staff on the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, showed that Harvard’s Antisemitism Advisory Group presented “significant recommendations” that its administration should take to combat anti-Semitism, but those “were never made public or implemented.”
The Antisemitism Advisory Group presented its recommendations to Harvard’s leadership in December 2023, which included the following:
- “Having ‘zero tolerance; for classroom disruptions;
- Protecting shared learning environments;
- Holding student organizations accountable for adhering to University rules;
- Countering antisemitic speech;
- Reviewing Harvard’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging’s (OEDIB) inadequacy in addressing antisemitism; and
- Investigating the potential influence of “dark money” from Iran, Qatar, and associates of terrorist groups on campus.”
The Antisemitism Advisory Group found that anti-Semitism on Harvard’s campus is a “significant problem.”
Incidents described by the advisory group include Jewish students being spat on and a Jewish student being chased back home from a dining hall.
In one incident described to the committee, an individual wanted to bring her friend, a Harvard student, to class to watch a presentation she was giving. The professor asked the individual’s friend to leave because other students weren’t comfortable she was from Israel.
According to the committee report, no disciplinary action was taken in any of these cases.
A majority of the group even threatened to resign over Harvard’s inadequate response to anti-Semitism.
The group, according to the report, wasn’t consulted ahead of former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s testimony before Congress. The committee also noted that much of the material used in the report was provided after a subpoena was issued to Harvard’s leadership following weeks of stonewalling on delivering the relevant documents.
House Committee on Education & the Workforce Charwoman Virginia Foxx accused Harvard of using the Antisemitism Advisory Group for show.
“The Committee’s report proves that former President Gay and Harvard’s leadership propped up the university’s Antisemitism Advisory Group all for show,” said Foxx. “Not only did the AAG find that antisemitism was a major issue on campus, it offered several recommendations on how to combat the problem—none of which were ever implemented with any real vigor. This shocking revelation reveals an inner look at how dysfunctional Harvard’s administration is and the deep-seated moral rot that clouds its judgement.”
Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton painted the report as an “incomplete and inaccurate view of Harvard’s overall efforts to combat antisemitism last fall and in the months since” in comments to the Harvard Crimson.
“It is disappointing to see selective excerpts from internal documents, shared in good faith, released in this manner,” Newton wrote. “Harvard has demonstrated its focus and commitment and attentiveness to combating antisemitism, and these efforts are reflected in the many voluminous submissions to the committee.”
