antisemitism, Harvard University
The litigation piece of the effort to hold Harvard accountable is, fortunately, not yet over. The only non-anonymous plaintiff in the case, Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum, who spoke at the Republican National Convention and has repeatedly testified before Congress on the topic, is moving ahead with discovery in the case.
Harvard, which has seen its campus erupt in pro-Hamas demonstrations after the terror group launched its Oct. 7 attacks, has settled two separate lawsuits alleging antisemitic discrimination brought by The Louis Brandeis Center and the other filed by Students Against Antisemitism and Shabbos Kestenabaum.
Many universities have been reluctant to embrace a definition that, among other things, considers some criticisms of Israel as antisemitic. The university’s decision was part of a lawsuit settlement.
The Massachusetts university agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the plaintiffs, but it did not admit to any wrongdoing or liability.
The Ivy League school agreed to boost protections for Jewish students.
Harvard has agreed to strengthen its policies against antisemitism and adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association definition of antisemitism.
(THE CONVERSATION) As part of Harvard University’s agreement in response to two federal lawsuits filed by Jewish students alleging antisemitic discrimination, it will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, “working definition” of antisemitism.
Harvard University has agreed to take several steps to fight antisemitism on its campus after a lawsuit claimed it ignored and tolerated that type of hate.
The nation’s richest Ivy League university lost millions in fundraising dollars after drawing donor ire over antisemitism on campus. These settlements could be the first step to assuaging those concerns.
Berkeley is suing her local UAW-affiliated union for alleged hostility and discrimination against Israeli and Jewish union members.
The scrapping of the lecture is the latest controversy for Harvard in what has been a week of turmoil for the Ivy League institution.