Harvard University “failed its Jewish students” and must face a lawsuit over antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel, a federal judge in Boston ruled.
Judge Richard Stearns said Jewish students plausibly claimed Harvard had been indifferent to their fears of walking through the campus and missing classes and extracurricular activities when they were allegedly harassed by pro-Palestinian protesters.
He did not rule on the merits of the claims, only that the lawsuit could move forward.
“The protests were, at times, confrontational and physically violent, and plaintiffs legitimately fear their repetition,” Stearns wrote. “[P]laintiffs have plausibly pled that they were subject to severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment.”
Stearns said he was “dubious” of Harvard’s claim that it allowed the protests to continue in order to protect the free speech rights of demonstrators. Instead, Harvard’s reaction was “at best, indecisive, vacillating, and at times internally contradictory,” the judge concluded.
An unidentified person walks through Harvard yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 7, 2023.
Faith Ninivaggi/Reuters, FILE
“To conclude that the [lawsuit] has not plausibly alleged deliberate indifference would reward Harvard for virtuous public declarations that for the most part, according to the allegations of the [lawsuit], proved hollow when it came to taking disciplinary measures against offending students and faculty,” Stearns wrote in the opinion. “In other words, the facts as pled show that Harvard failed its Jewish students.”
A spokesperson for Harvard said in a statement to The Boston Globe, “Harvard has and will continue to take concrete steps to address the root causes of antisemitism on campus and protect our Jewish and Israeli students, ensuring they may pursue their education free from harassment and discrimination.”
ABC News has reached out to the university for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.