The United States government has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, accusing the Ivy League school of failing to adequately protect Jewish and Israeli students on its campus, according to court papers filed on Friday.
The legal action marks a significant escalation, with the Trump administration seeking to recover billions of dollars in taxpayer funds tied to the university.
According to the lawsuit, Harvard remains deliberately indifferent to hostility on its campus and has intentionally refused to enforce its campus rules when victims are Jews or Israelis, news agency Reuters said.
“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 complaint said.
Harvard, however, signalled it would fight the case, with a spokesperson describing the lawsuit as “yet another pretextual and retaliatory action by the administration for refusing to turn over control of Harvard to the federal government," the news agency added.
“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,” the spokesperson said. “Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference.”
{{/usCountry}}“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,” the spokesperson said. “Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference.”
{{/usCountry}}The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university also listed the steps it has taken to address antisemitism on campus.
These include expanding training programmes, strengthening disciplinary processes, and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
The case comes amid a broader push by the administration of Donald Trump to scrutinise universities over alleged antisemitism following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Several institutions have come under similar pressure. Columbia University last July agreed to pay $220 million to restore federal research funding, while the justice department last month sued the University of California over claims that Jewish and Israeli employees at University of California, Los Angeles were subjected to widespread antisemitism.