US President Donald Trump's administration sued Harvard University on Friday, accusing the university of violating the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Boston and is the latest escalation in a clash between the White House and one of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. The administration has been investigating Harvard for months and has tried to reach a settlement with the university, but without success.
In court documents, the US government alleges that Harvard "turned a blind eye to anti-Semitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis," particularly during campus protests following the Gaza war in 2023.
According to the lawsuit, while the university enforces strict rules against other forms of discrimination, anti-Israel protesters on campus have violated the rules “with impunity.” The document even states that during the protests, some professors have brought food to protesting students.
The administration also claims that Jewish and Israeli students have faced serious harassment, including physical attacks, stalking, and exclusion from university spaces such as libraries or classrooms.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that Harvard has violated its obligations under federal civil rights law and that the government no longer be required to fund the university with existing grants. It also demands that the university return billions of dollars in research funding it received from the government and establish an independent monitor to oversee compliance with the law.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stated that universities have an obligation to protect civil rights when receiving funding from the federal government.
The lawsuit against Harvard follows a more than year-long standoff between the administration and American universities over how pro-Palestinian protests have been handled on university campuses. The Justice Department recently sued the University of California, Los Angeles over similar allegations of anti-Semitism on campus.
