Harvard’s task forces on anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias each found a climate of discrimination and harassment on campus, writing in preliminary reports released Wednesday that the situation for pro-Israel students was “dire” and that pro-Palestinian students were being repressed.
The anti-Semitism task force cited reports of teaching colleagues who discriminated against or harassed students because they were Israeli or pro-Israel. He added that there was an ideological “touchstone” for extracurricular activities that made it impossible for some students to participate.
The task force called for a variety of measures, including anti-harassment training for all students, discussions on anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias, and accommodations for those observing Jewish holidays, to improve the quality of life for Jewish students on campus.
On the other hand, the investigation into anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias on campus found that the freedom of expression of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students had been widely suppressed, leaving them in “a state of uncertainty, abandonment, threat and isolation and in “a pervasive climate of intolerance ». The report said that many students felt that the words “Palestinian” and “Palestinian” had become taboo on campus.
Among other recommendations, the task force urged the school to appoint a visiting professor in Palestinian studies and, in the long term, hire faculty members to expand the school’s curriculum related to Palestinian studies. It also recommended that the university clarify policies on bullying and bias.
The preliminary reports come after a school year that has seen heightened concerns about anti-Semitism and Islamophobia at Harvard and other universities. Last week, Stanford released reports from its own task forces that found widespread anti-Semitism and suppression of pro-Palestinian speech on its campus.
Republican lawmakers and donors have been under particularly intense pressure on Harvard to address anti-Semitism following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
That pressure, as well as a dramatic grilling by the Republican-led House Education and Workforce Committee, contributed to the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay after she gave vague, legal answers to whether a call for campus genocide . would be considered anti-Semitic.
In a scathing letter in May, Virginia Foxx, the committee’s chairwoman, accused Harvard of ignoring the recommendations of an advisory panel on anti-Semitism (which was later disbanded and replaced by the task force). Harvard said Dr. Fox cherry-picked evidence to reach inaccurate conclusions.
Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments have taken over campuses, including Harvard, over the past year, putting universities in a difficult position as they try to balance free speech rights and campus security.
Jewish groups said incidents of anti-Semitism were rampant during those protests, while Muslim groups claimed their free speech was stifled when universities cracked down on the demonstrations.
The report by Harvard’s anti-Semitism task force did not go into much detail about specific incidents. But a Harvard Divinity School student, Shabbos Kestenbaum, testified at a public House hearing in February that his classmates had posted on an anonymous social media app that “too many damn Jews live in this country.”
Mr. Kestenbaum, who graduated in the spring and accused the university in a lawsuit of being a “bastion” of anti-Jewish hatred, said Wednesday that the anti-Semitism report was not harsh enough.
“The most substantive policy change is ‘pork products must be clearly labeled,'” he said, referring to the recommendation that Harvard serve more kosher hot meals and identify pork dishes in dining halls.
The report on Islamophobia was also somewhat general, but included accounts of students in hijabs or kaffiyehs being called “terrorists”.
He also said that the pro-Palestinian students were exposed, meaning their personal information was exposed. In one such case, students associated with organizations that signed a letter holding Israel responsible for the October 7 attack had their names and faces displayed on vans driving around campus operated by an outside conservative group called Accuracy in Media.
The task force called for more dedicated spaces for prayer and community gatherings, more recognition of Muslim holidays and religious instruction during orientation. “Religious illiteracy needs to be addressed as it is a major contributor to stereotypes and prejudice,” the report says.
Neither report addressed the dispute over whether anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism, which Abed A. Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said was a significant omission.
“This all stems from efforts to change the definition of anti-Semitism,” he said. “There is hostility towards anti-Zionist groups. this should not be underestimated.”
Mr Kestenbaum also said he was disappointed that the anti-Semitism report did not include a definition of anti-Semitism.
In an email releasing the reports, Alan Garber, Harvard’s interim president, urged his campus to engage “with discretion, decency and compassion.” He added, “our learning cannot be reduced to purely academic pursuits if we hope to fulfill our responsibilities to one another and to the institution that is our spiritual home.”
