Latest news with #JointTaskForcetoCombatAnti-Semitism
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard in ‘violent violation' of Civil Rights Act, Trump administration alleges
The Trump administration says Harvard University is in 'violent violation' of the Civil Rights Act due to inaction to protect Jewish students, threatening more cuts to federal funding. The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism sent a letter to Harvard on Monday declaring the conclusion of a Title VI investigation found the school failed to combat antisemitism on campus. In its examples, the government listed a majority of Jewish students reporting negative bias on campus and a quarter feeling unsafe, Jewish students who were assaulted and campus demonstrations that violated university policies, among other problems. 'Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government. Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again,' the letter states. A spokesperson for the university said in a statement that 'Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community. 'In responding to the government's investigation, Harvard not only shared its comprehensive and retrospective Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias Report but also outlined the ways that it has strengthened policies, disciplined those who violate them, encouraged civil discourse, and promoted open, respectful dialogue,' the spokesperson said. 'Harvard is far from indifferent on this issue and strongly disagrees with the government's findings,' they added. The letter is the latest salvo in the war between Harvard and the Trump administration after the university refused to cave to demands such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs. That rejection has led to two lawsuits between the two sides: one over almost $3 billion in paused federal funds, and the other fighting Trump's directive to take away Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students. President Trump posted on social media earlier this month that a deal could soon emerge between Harvard and his administration, but no details or mention of an agreement have been spoken of since. Updated at 11:14 a.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Read the Trump admin letter threatening to cut all of Harvard's funding
Just over a week after it appeared the Trump administration and Harvard University could be nearing an agreement, a scathing letter sent Monday by the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism informed Harvard it had been found guilty of a 'violent violation.' That violation, according to the letter, is that Harvard has been 'in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff.' Read more: Trump admin threatens to cut all Harvard's funding over 'violent violation' The letter told the university it was found to be in violation of the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, and warned that it stands to lose all remaining federal funding if it doesn't 'institute adequate changes immediately.' Dear Dr. Garber, Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground for race discrimination, as the Supreme Court noted in Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023). That legacy of discrimination persists with Harvard's continued anti-Semitism. Any institution that refuses to meet its duties under federal law may not receive a wide range of federal privileges. Today, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is notifying you that the Office for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Health and Human Services has concluded its Title VI investigation regarding anti-Semitism at Harvard University. After a thorough investigation, HHS OCR finds that Harvard University is in violent violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. The enclosed Notice of Violation details the findings of fact supporting a conclusion that Harvard has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff. For example: The majority of Jewish students reported experiencing negative bias or discrimination on campus, while a quarter felt physically unsafe. Jewish and Israeli students were assaulted and spit on; they hid their kippahs for fear of being harassed and concealed their Jewish identity from classmates for fear of ostracization. Images were widely circulated among the Harvard community that trafficked in obvious anti-Semitic tropes, including one that showed a dollar sign inside a Star of David. The campus was vandalized with anti-Semitic stickers, including one that showed the Israeli flag with a swastika in place of the Star of David. The campus was wracked by demonstrations that flagrantly violated the University's rules of conduct. The demonstrations included calls for genocide and murder, and denied Jewish and Israeli students access to campus spaces. The heart of campus was overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment that instilled fear in, and disrupted the studies of, Jewish and Israeli students. Even worse, individuals who participated in the encampment received lax and inconsistent discipline—and as the discipline was reviewed by higher levels among the faculty, it was often downgraded. By the end of the process, even accounting only for the students that were charged, only a fraction received some sort of discipline, and none were suspended. A member of Harvard's own leadership called the disciplinary process 'not fair' and 'not right.' Harvard did not dispute our findings of fact, nor could it. These facts, while tragic for the individuals involved, are important to address for a broader, historical reason as well. As history has proven, the failure to face the reality of anti-Semitism can have catastrophic effects. The Holocaust engulfed Europe due to the '[d]isbelief, incredulity, and denial on the part of both victims and onlookers' which 'worked to the advantage of those who wanted to eradicate the Jews.'1 Harvard's inaction in the face of these civil rights violations is a clear example of the demographic hierarchy that has taken hold of the University. Equal defense of the law demands that all groups, regardless of race or national origin, are protected. Harvard's commitment to racial hierarchies—where individuals are sorted and judged according to their membership in an oppressed group identity and not individual merit—has enabled anti-Semitism to fester on Harvard's campus and has led a once great institution to humiliation, offering remedial math and forcing Jewish students to hide their identities and ancestral stories. Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government. Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again. The enclosed document serves to focus Harvard on the need for meaningful and immediate reform and fulfill the requirement under law that Americans cease funding discriminatory institutions. Harmeet K. Dhillon Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Justice Josh Gruenbaum Commissioner, Federal Acquisition Service U.S. General Services Administration Sean R. Keveney Acting General Counsel U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Thomas E. Wheeler Acting General Counsel U.S. Department of Education Trump admin threatens to cut all Harvard's funding over 'violent violation' As foreign students reconsider coming to Boston, local businesses prepare for fallout Trump admin appeals federal judge's decision rejecting ban of foreign Harvard students Harvard subpoenaed in Ivy League tuition price-fixing investigation Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Admin Finds Harvard in ‘Violent Violation' of Civil Rights Act
The Trump administration has found Harvard to be in 'violent violation' of the Civil Rights Act. The administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism found the university mistreated its Jewish and Israeli students following an investigation into its compliance with the Civil Rights Act, according to a letter sent to Harvard president Alan Garber on Monday. The letter, which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal, indicated that the task force had found that the school 'has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff.' The task force claimed that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 'which prohibits discrimination against or otherwise excluding individuals on the basis of race, color, or national origin.' The 'notice of violation' tees up the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit, though similar findings during other presidential administrations usually ended with a negotiated resolution. The finding puts Harvard at further financial risk after President Donald Trump cancelled $3 billion in grants to the university. The letter cited images with 'obvious anti-Semitic tropes' circulating among students and faculty, Jewish and Israeli students being 'assaulted and spit on,' and the pro-Palestine encampment in April 2024, which it said 'instilled fear in, and disrupted the studies of, Jewish and Israeli students.' 'Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government,' the letter said. 'Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again,' it continued. This news comes a week after Trump made a surprise announcement on Truth Social that he may soon be mending ties with the institution. He claimed that his administration had been 'looking for a solution' to Harvard's 'large-scale improprieties' but that 'it is very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so.' 'They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right,' he wrote. 'If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be 'mindbogglingly' HISTORIC, and very good for our Country.' That same day, a federal judge also indefinitely blocked the administration from revoking the university's ability to accept and host international scholars and students. Harvard has been in hot water ever since it refused to bend the knee to the Trump administration's demands in April, which included allowing federal government oversight of the admissions and staff hiring process. It is currently embroiled in two lawsuits against the administration, one regarding the school's ability to host international students and the other regarding the administration's attempt to freeze its federal funding. Trump has frozen more than $3 billion in funding for the institution and has threatened to withhold an additional $3 billion as well as cancel its federal contracts with the university, which total around $100 million.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Harvard accused of antisemitism, Trump administration warns of funding cut
The US government has notified Harvard University that a federal investigation had found the school in violation of federal civil rights law for failing to protect Jewish students on campus from discrimination. A letter from the Trump administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism to Harvard's president, Alan Garber, said
UPI
6 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Joint Task Force on anti-Semitism accuses Harvard of Civil Rights Act violation
"Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground for race discrimination," read a letter in part on Monday to University President Alan Garber from the federal government's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. File Photo by Matthew Healey/ UPI | License Photo June 30 (UPI) -- The Trump administration on Monday threatened more funding cuts to Harvard University after a federal task force claimed the Ivy League school was in "violent violation" of the Civil Rights Act over a perceived failure to protect Jewish students. "Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground for race discrimination," read the letter in part to University President Alan Garber from the federal government's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. The letter, signed by four federal officials from the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, the U.S. General Services Administration, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon, cited the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on Harvard's admission practices. It said that its Title VI investigation via the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin -- concluded that Harvard allegedly failed to suppress anti-Semitism on its Boston-based campus. "That legacy of discrimination persists with Harvard's continued anti-Semitism," it stated, adding that any institution refusing to "meet its duties under federal law may not receive a wide range of federal privileges." The task force listed in its examples a series of allegations that it says Harvard "did not dispute our findings of fact, nor could it." It indicated a quarter of Harvard's Jewish students felt unsafe, saw negative bias and reported alleged assaults during campus demonstrations that federal officials claimed violated university policy, among a number of other issues. In their letter, it went on to express how the Holocaust engulfed Europe "due to the '[d]isbelief, incredulity, and denial on the part of both victims and onlookers' which 'worked to the advantage of those who wanted to eradicate the Jews.'" "Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government," the letter continued. "Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again." On Monday, the university pointed to "substantive, proactive steps" officials took to address "the root causes of antisemitism" on campus, saying Harvard is "far from indifferent on this issue and strongly disagrees with the government's findings." "In responding to the government's investigation, Harvard not only shared its comprehensive and retrospective Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israeli Bias Report but also outlined the ways that it has strengthened policies, disciplined those who violate them, encouraged civil discourse, and promoted open, respectful dialogue," a university spokesman told The Hill in a statement. Harvard previously refused to give in to the administration's demands to end its diversity, equity, inclusion and other policies, leading to a lawsuit over a pause in more than $3 billion in federal funds and Trump's order to rid Harvard's long-existing right to enroll foreign students. This month, the president in a social media post said a deal with Harvard could arrive but offered no other detail and has not spoken of it since.
