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President Donald Trump’s administration has filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, accusing the institution of permitting a “hostile environment” for Jewish and Israeli students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations held between 2023 and 2025.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, alleges that Harvard leadership and faculty failed to address antisemitic conduct, claiming the university allowed protest actions in violation of its own rules.
The Department of Justice further said that Harvard “faculty and leadership turned a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis,” accusing the university of failing to enforce its own rules against pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli demonstrators.
“Harvard let anti-Israeli demonstrators occupy its libraries. Harvard allowed an anti-Israeli encampment to persist for twenty days in violation of university policy,” said the lawsuit, filed in a Massachusetts court.
“Harvard fostered and continues to foster a campus climate where hostile antisemitism and anti-Israeli conduct thrives,” it said.
Harvard, in response, said it remains committed to protecting Jewish and Israeli students and ensuring they feel safe and respected on campus.
The university added that it has implemented new training, educational programmes, and dialogue initiatives aimed at addressing antisemitism and encouraging respectful engagement.
It also has launched programs to “promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom,” the university said.
“Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference.”
The Trump administration is asking the court to rule that Harvard breached its federal obligations, potentially leading to the withdrawal of millions in funding and repayment of previously disbursed funds.
The legal action follows earlier tensions, including a federal judge’s September ruling ordering the government to restore $2.6 billion in frozen Harvard funding after a complaint by the university.
At one point, Trump also signaled a possible settlement involving about $500 million in payments from Harvard for professional training, while later escalating his demand to $1 billion in damages.
The case forms part of a wider campaign against US universities over their handling of pro-Palestinian activism in the Israel-Gaza war, including a similar lawsuit filed earlier against the University of California, Los Angeles.
