Harvard University – which has seen it embroiled in numerous anti-Semitic controversies – has settled two lawsuits alleging anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli discrimination as one student vows to continue fighting until justice is served.
Harvard, which saw its campus erupt in pro-Hamas protests after the terrorist group launched its attack on October 7, has settled two separate lawsuits alleging cultural discrimination brought by the Louis Brandeis Center and another filed by Students Against Antisemitism and the – Shabbos Kestenbaum.
The Brandeis Center’s complaint alleges that three Harvard Kennedy School students were discriminated against because of their Israeli identity during the Spring 2023 course. While the students were doing a research project on Israeli Liberal Jewish Democracy, they were told by their professor that the topic was “offensive” and that if they did not change the topics they would face “consequences ,” the lawsuit said.
AS A HARVARD JEWISH STUDENT, I KNOW ELISE STEFANIK IS THE PERSON TO FIGHT ANTISEMITISM AT THE UN
Cambridge, MA – May 10: Harvard University police walk near a pro-Palestinian tent camp in Harvard Yard. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Professor Ganz, who taught the course, equated the “Jewish state” with “white supremacy” and subjected the students to further discrimination by allowing pro-Palestinian students to speak violently against Israel and antisemitic in class while denying Israeli students the ability. to answer, the lawsuit claims. Class discrimination culminated in the professor, his tutors and the entire class donning keffiyahs for a group photo. Israeli students, feeling targeted, refused to participate.
The Brandeis Center commissioned an external investigation into the incident, and the report concluded that students faced a “hostile learning environment,” and that the Harvard Kennedy School had failed to protect them in a “bias-free learning environment.” Harvard agreed with the report’s findings, but the lawsuit says they failed to take appropriate steps to respond.
In another disturbing allegation from the Brandeis Center, a Jewish Israeli student at Harvard Business School was beaten by a violent campus mob of pro-Hamas radicals. The student, who was wearing a green bracelet to show his support for the Jewish State, tried to film an anti-Israel protest at his campus when he was attacked by “security marshals” who pushed and shoved him.
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Former Harvard president Claudine Gay refused to say that calls to kill Jews were against the school’s anti-bullying rules. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The lawsuit alleges that Harvard failed to properly discipline violent students, and is trying to “sweep the incident under the rug.”
In the case of Students Against Antisemitism and Kestenbaum, Harvard is accused of being “a hotbed of rampant antisemitism.”
Among other incidents cited in the lawsuit, the lawsuit refers to Harvard President Claudine Gay’s infamous testimony in December 2023 before the House Education Committee where she refused to say whether calls to kill Jews were against the school’s anti-bullying and harassment laws. , instead they say “it depends on the context.” Kestenbaum alleges that a Harvard employee repeatedly harassed her online, and that the university failed to take reasonable steps to protect her.
“@ShabbosK, watch your back… I’m coming for more than blood – I’m coming for Zionism, and I’m strong.[.] . . . We’re burying you.” Harvard Financial and Systems consultant Gustavo Espada posted on X.
While the Brandeis Center and SAS have agreed to a settlement, Kestenbaum continues to negotiate with the Ivy League school separately.
“I’m glad that many of our demands have been met, however, the only way to ensure that no student is treated the way Harvard treated me is through discipline, accountability and discipline,” Kestenbaum told Fox News Digital.
As part of these solutions, Harvard agreed to accept the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism as part of its Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying Policies, hosting an annual anti-Semitism series and collaborating with an Israeli university.
Shabbos Kestenbaum continues his case. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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“The latest settlement is real progress. But, there is still a long way to go before Jewish, Israeli and Zionist students can enjoy full equality on campus. The courts and the Trump administration need to hold Harvard’s feet to the fire,” said former Harvard Hillel Director Andrew Geraer.
“This decision is consistent with Harvard’s commitment to combating anti-Semitism and ensuring that its Jewish and Israeli students are welcome and able to thrive on its campus and that complaints of discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students are treated in the same manner and with the same urgency as all protected groups,” Harvard said in a statement.
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