Harvard defies Trump call for changes in policy on antisemitism; Trump immediately froze over $2.2 billion in funding
University says sweeping list of demands violate constitutional rights; Harvard’s president, who is Jewish, says it has made extensive reforms to address antisemitism
The Times of Israel
Apr 14, 2025
BOSTON — Elite US university Harvard is risking almost $9 billion in federal funding as it rejects a list of sweeping demands that the Trump administration said are intended to crack down on campus antisemitism.
In a letter to Harvard Friday, the administration called for broad government and leadership reforms, a requirement that Harvard institute what it calls “merit-based” admissions and hiring policies as well as conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity.
The demands, which are an update from an earlier letter, also call for a ban on face masks — which appeared to target anti-Israel protesters. They also call for the university to stop recognizing or funding “any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment,” to halt diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and to reform “programs with egregious records of antisemitism or other bias.”
Harvard President Alan Garber, in a letter to the Harvard community Monday, said the demands violated the university’s First Amendment rights and “exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI,” which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote, adding that the university had taken extensive reforms to address antisemitism.
“These ends will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate,” wrote Garber, who is Jewish. “The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.”
Harvard is one of several Ivy League schools targeted in a pressure campaign by the administration, which also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton in a push to bring campus policies in line with President Donald Trump’s political agenda. Harvard’s demand letter is similar to the one that prompted changes at Columbia University under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts.
The administration has also argued that universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests at Harvard and other schools against Israel’s military assault on Gaza that has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli offensive followed the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel by Hamas-led terrorists who murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians and took 252 hostages.
The Harvard Jewish Alumni Association, which formed following the October 7 attacks and says its mission is to “protect the students, faculty, and staff of the Harvard Jewish community,” disparaged Garber’s letter.
“Harvard declares it will resist changes to its governance, but where’s the statement outlining what it WILL do instead to fight antisemitism?” the group posted on X.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.
The demands from the Trump administration prompted a group of alumni to write to university leaders calling for it to “legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance.”
“Harvard stood up today for the integrity, values, and freedoms that serve as the foundation of higher education,” said Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni behind the letter. “Harvard reminded the world that learning, innovation and transformative growth will not yield to bullying and authoritarian whims.”
The administration’s demand letter also sparked a protest over the weekend from members of the Harvard community and from residents of Cambridge and a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts.
In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration has failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it starts cutting funds, and giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress.
“These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech,” plaintiffs wrote.
Harvard and other elite universities came into the crosshairs of conservatives in late 2023, when the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared before a congressional committee looking into a rise in antisemitism on campuses.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay, along with the other school leaders, declined to give a definitive “yes” or “no” answer when asked if calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment, saying they had to balance it against free-speech protections.
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Trump enacts swift revenge against Harvard after university refused to comply with his bombshell list of demands
Daily Mail
Apr 14, 2025
Donald Trump 's education department put the hammer down on Harvard, freezing over $2.2billion in funding after they rejected a list of demands from the federal government.
Harvard announced via a letter to the White House Monday that it won't comply with the requests from the Trump administration as part of its campaign against antisemitism.
The Department of Education's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism swiftly announced a freeze on $2.2billion in multi-year grants and $60million in multi-year contract value to the Ivy League institution.
1 comment:
Their choice, just like it’s the government’s choice not to give them the money if they don’t.
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