Department of Education Opens Investigation into Harvard over Complaints of Antisemitism on Campus

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into Harvard University on Tuesday to determine whether the university has fulfilled its legal obligation to respond to the increase in antisemitic incidents reported in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack.

The investigation was prompted by a complaint that alleged Harvard “discriminated against students on the basis of their national origin (shared Jewish ancestry and/or Israeli) when it failed to respond appropriately to reports of incidents of harassment,” according to a letter from the Department of Education obtained by the Boston Globe.

While the Office of Civil Rights does not typically disclose which specific complaints prompted an investigation, there have been several high-profile incidents of antisemitism at Harvard and other Ivy league universities in recent weeks.

In October, an Israeli student at Harvard Business School was physically accosted as he attempted to film a pro-Palestinian “die-in” demonstration. The student said “don’t grab me” and “don’t touch my neck” as protesters surrounded him.