Trump admin finds Harvard in violation of federal civil rights law over campus antisemitism

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Monday that Harvard University has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to respond to widespread antisemitic harassment on its campus adequately. After a months-long investigation, OCR found Harvard acted with "deliberate indifference" toward the hostile environment Jewish and Israeli students faced since the October 7, 2023, Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel.

The federal probe concluded that harassment by fellow students and faculty included threats, intimidation, vandalism, and physical violence—conclude that Harvard did not consistently or effectively address. These findings have now put over $794 million in federal funding to the university at risk.

“Harvard’s public pledges to improve its disciplinary framework for harassment and misconduct are inadequate to meaningfully address these serious findings,” said Paula M. Stannard, Director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS. The Notice of Violation outlines repeated failures by Harvard to protect Jewish and Israeli students’ basic rights to safety, access to education, and equal treatment. Incidents cited include:
 

• Jewish students being spat on and assaulted
• Images circulated with antisemitic tropes, such as a dollar sign inside the Star of David
• Campus vandalism involving antisemitic stickers and imagery, including a swastika replacing the Star of David on the Israeli flag
• Demonstrations calling for genocide and the murder of Jews, which blocked access to campus facilities
• A prolonged, unauthorized encampment in Harvard Yard that “instilled fear in, and disrupted the studies of, Jewish and Israeli students”

Despite numerous violations of its conduct codes, Harvard was found to have inconsistently applied discipline. In many cases, sanctions against participants in antisemitic actions were reduced or dismissed entirely. A Harvard leader reportedly described the disciplinary process as “not fair” and “not right.”

In a sharply worded letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon condemned the university’s culture and record. “Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground[s] for race discrimination,” she wrote, citing the 2023 Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. “That legacy of discrimination persists with Harvard’s continued anti-Semitism.”

OCR emphasized that the university’s failure to act constitutes both “deliberate indifference” and, in some cases, “willful participation” in the harassment. Harvard did not dispute the facts presented in the investigation.

Unless Harvard swiftly remedies the violations, the university could lose access to all federal funding, including student financial aid, research grants, and public health funds. OCR made clear that while Harvard is free to operate without federal privileges, continuing to receive taxpayer support will require immediate and meaningful reform. The investigation is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts through the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. This is only the second OCR investigation under Title VI during this administration that has formally concluded with a finding of civil rights violations under a deliberate indifference theory.

“Equal defense of the law demands that all groups, regardless of race or national origin, are protected,” the notice stated. “Harvard’s commitment to racial hierarchies... has enabled anti-Semitism to fester on Harvard’s campus.”