WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice sued Harvard University on Friday, accusing the Ivy League school of violating federal civil rights law by having “turned a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis” on campus.
In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon alleged that Harvard demonstrated “deliberate indifference” to the harassment and “refused to enforce” rules to protect students, faculty, and staff.
“This Justice Department has no tolerance for such brazen violations of federal law,” Dhillon added in a statement.
Harvard University was sued by the Department of Justice. REUTERSThe civil complaint alleged three counts against Harvard and asked the court to bar continued discrimination as well as order the university’s governing board to enforce existing disciplinary measures, and pay back more than $953 million in federal grants since October 2023.
The Trump administration also requested an independent monitor to oversee Harvard’s compliance with civil rights law by conducting regular audits.
Much of the discrimination cited in the filing came after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of around 1,200 people in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza — which sparked widespread protests at US universities and colleges.
The suit noted how anti-Israel demonstrators camped out on Harvard Yard for twenty days in spring 2024 — despite then-President Alan Garber calling out their “indefensible and unacceptable” behavior.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon alleged that Harvard demonstrated “deliberate indifference” to the harassment and “refused to enforce” rules to protect students, faculty, and staff.
Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias also called out the “exclusion of Israeli or Zionist students from social spaces and extracurricular activities” to no avail, according to the suit.
Meanwhile, Jewish and Israeli students have been “assaulted, harassed, or intimidated” by “mobs” that have taken over campus buildings and spaces.
“This sent the clear message to Harvard’s Jewish and Israeli community that the indifference was not an accident; they were being intentionally excluded and effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities,” the 44-page filing stated.
A student walks with an Israeli flag on Harvard’s campus on Dec. 12, 2023. Corbis via Getty Images“The United States cannot and will not tolerate these failures and brings this action to compel Harvard to comply with Title VI, and to recover billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies awarded to a discriminatory institution.”
Department of Health and Human Services grants to Harvard total more than $2.6 billion, the suit noted, and the Trump administration moved to freeze most of that funding last year before courts ruled against the move.
The DOJ, in return, filed a suit against the Cambridge, Mass., university in February, alleging that Harvard was withholding records that would show whether it practices racial discrimination in admissions.
President Trump, earlier the same month, demanded up to $1 billion in fines from the Ivy League school to settle federal investigations into its potential civil rights violations.
Federal civil rights law bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Department of Health and Human Services grants to Harvard total more than $2.6 billion, the suit noted, and the Trump administration moved to freeze most of that funding last year before courts ruled against the move. David McGlynn“Today’s litigation underscores the Trump Administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
Harvard spokesperson: “Harvard cares deeply about members of our Jewish and Israeli community and remains committed to ensuring they are embraced, respected, and can thrive on our campus. Our actions illustrate this. Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism and actively enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies on campus. We also have enhanced training and education on antisemitism for students, faculty, and staff and launched programs to promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom. Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference,” a Harvard spokesperson said.
“We will continue to prioritize this important work and will defend the University against this lawsuit, which represents yet another pretextual and retaliatory action by the administration for refusing to turn over control of Harvard to the federal government.”
