Latest news with #TaskForcetoCombatAnti-Semitism
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump admin. accuses Harvard of 'violent violation' of civil rights law: A timeline of the president's war with the university
The Trump administration on Monday accused Harvard of being in 'violent violation' of federal civil rights laws by allegedly failing to stop antisemitism on its campus. In a letter sent to the university, the administration's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism threatened to cut off 'all federal financial resources' if Harvard doesn't 'institute adequate changes immediately.' The move marked the latest escalation in the ongoing back-and-forth between the president and Harvard, which has come under a barrage of attacks in the months since President Trump returned to office. The administration has already taken away billions of dollars in federal research grants, attempted to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status and tried to block the school from hosting international students. Since returning to office, Trump has mounted a sweeping campaign to impose his ideological worldview on some of the country's most prominent universities, revoking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from schools like Columbia, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. But no college has faced the kinds of attacks that Harvard has. Harvard has not responded publicly to Monday's letter, but its president, Alan M. Garber, has previously condemned the administration's 'unlawful and unwarranted' actions. The university has reportedly been negotiating a possible settlement with the administration that would potentially offer the school some relief in exchange for accepting some of the administration's terms for how it should reshape its internal policies. Trump expressed confidence that the two sides could strike a deal in a post on Truth Social earlier this month, writing that Harvard had acted 'extremely appropriately' during their discussions and that the terms of the agreement would be ''mindbogglingly' HISTORIC' if it is finalized. It's unclear how Monday's action by the administration might affect those ongoing negotiations. Here's a timeline of the most aggressive actions the Trump administration has taken against Harvard and how the school has responded. March 31: The administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announces it will conduct a 'comprehensive review' of nearly $9 billion in contracts and grants that Harvard is slated to receive from the federal government over the school's alleged 'failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination.' April 11: The administration sends Harvard a letter containing a wide-ranging slate of demands, including calling for the school to reform its admissions and hiring policies, end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and grant the government extensive new authority over university operations and education. April 14: Harvard announces that it is refusing to comply with those demands, insisting that it would not 'surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.' The administration responds by revoking $2.2 billion in federal research grants. April 16: DHS launches an investigation into Harvard's international student enrollment, threatens to revoke its ability to host them and demands that the university share comprehensive internal information about each foreign student with the administration. April 17: The Department of Education announces an investigation into donations Harvard has received from foreign sources, accusing the university of failing to accurately disclose the money it gets from overseas. April 19: The Department of Health and Human Services announces a comprehensive civil rights investigation into all activities on Harvard's campus since the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in order to determine whether the school is violating federal antidiscrimination laws. April 20: The administration reportedly moves to revoke an additional $1 billion in health research funding for Harvard and its research partners. April 21: Harvard sues to block the funding freeze. The lawsuit condemns the 'broad attack' on the university and argues that the administration broke the law by violating the school's 'academic independence.' April 25: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announces an investigation into Harvard's hiring practices, accusing the school of discriminating against 'white, Asian, male, or straight employees, applicants, and training program participants.' April 28: The Education Department and HHS announce a joint investigation into allegations of 'race-based discrimination' in the operations of the Harvard Law Review. May 2: Trump says that he is revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status. It's unclear whether this will actually happen, however, because federal law explicitly bars presidents from directing the Internal Revenue Service to review or change any taxpayer's or institution's tax status. May 5: The Education Department declares that Harvard is disqualified from receiving any federal grant funding in the future. May 12: Harvard releases a letter in which it acknowledges 'common ground' it shares with the administration and expresses hope that its 'partnership' with the government can be restored. That same day, the Justice Department launches an investigation into whether Harvard's admissions practices violate antidiscrimination laws. May 13: The administration's joint task force revokes an additional $450 million in grant funding over claims that Harvard has 'repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.' May 19: Another $60 million in medical research grant funding is canceled by HHS. May 22: DHS announces that Harvard can no longer host international students. May 23: Harvard sues to block the order. A federal judge temporarily rules in Harvard's favor, preventing the order from going into effect for at least two weeks to allow a more thorough legal challenge to get underway. May 27: The Trump administration orders all federal agencies to end any remaining contracts — totaling an estimated $100 million — they have with Harvard. May 29: The Trump administration issues a letter pausing its revocation of Harvard's ability to host international students for 30 days. A federal judge extends the deadline on the previous order that temporarily blocks the policy from going into effect. June 23: A federal judge issues an order indefinitely blocking the administration from revoking Harvard's right to host international students. June 26: Harvard reaches an agreement with the University of Toronto that will allow certain Harvard graduate students to attend the Canadian university if the administration succeeds in preventing them from attending college in the United States. June 30: The administration's antisemitism task force formally accuses Harvard of violating civil rights law and threatens to revoke all federal funding over the school's purported failure to protect Jewish students on campus. A letter from the task force accuses the university of being 'deliberately indifferent' to antisemitism in some cases and a 'willful participant' in attacks on Jewish people.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump admin. accuses Harvard of ‘violent violation' of civil rights law: A timeline of the president's war with the university
The Trump administration on Monday accused Harvard of being in 'violent violation' of federal civil rights laws by allegedly failing to stop antisemitism on its campus. In a letter sent to the university, the administration's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism threatened to cut off 'all federal financial resources' if Harvard doesn't 'institute adequate changes immediately.' The move marked the latest escalation in the ongoing back-and-forth between the president and Harvard, which has come under a barrage of attacks in the months since President Trump returned to office. The administration has already taken away billions of dollars in federal research grants, attempted to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status and tried to block the school from hosting international students. Since returning to office, Trump has mounted a sweeping campaign to impose his ideological worldview on some of the country's most prominent universities, revoking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from schools like Columbia, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. But no college has faced the kinds of attacks that Harvard has. Harvard has not responded publicly to Monday's letter, but its president, Alan M. Garber, has previously condemned the administration's 'unlawful and unwarranted' actions. The university has reportedly been negotiating a possible settlement with the administration that would potentially offer the school some relief in exchange for accepting some of the administration's terms for how it should reshape its internal policies. Trump expressed confidence that the two sides could strike a deal in a post on Truth Social earlier this month, writing that Harvard had acted 'extremely appropriately' during their discussions and that the terms of the agreement would be ''mindbogglingly' HISTORIC' if it is finalized. It's unclear how Monday's action by the administration might affect those ongoing negotiations. Here's a timeline of the most aggressive actions the Trump administration has taken against Harvard and how the school has responded. March 31: The administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announces it will conduct a 'comprehensive review' of nearly $9 billion in contracts and grants that Harvard is slated to receive from the federal government over the school's alleged 'failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination.' April 11: The administration sends Harvard a letter containing a wide-ranging slate of demands, including calling for the school to reform its admissions and hiring policies, end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices, and grant the government extensive new authority over university operations and education. April 14: Harvard announces that it is refusing to comply with those demands, insisting that it would not 'surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.' The administration responds by revoking $2.2 billion in federal research grants. April 16: DHS launches an investigation into Harvard's international student enrollment, threatens to revoke its ability to host them and demands that the university share comprehensive internal information about each foreign student with the administration. April 17: The Department of Education announces an investigation into donations Harvard has received from foreign sources, accusing the university of failing to accurately disclose the money it gets from overseas. April 19: The Department of Health and Human Services announces a comprehensive civil rights investigation into all activities on Harvard's campus since the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in order to determine whether the school is violating federal antidiscrimination laws. April 20: The administration reportedly moves to revoke an additional $1 billion in health research funding for Harvard and its research partners. April 21: Harvard sues to block the funding freeze. The lawsuit condemns the 'broad attack' on the university and argues that the administration broke the law by violating the school's 'academic independence.' April 25: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announces an investigation into Harvard's hiring practices, accusing the school of discriminating against 'white, Asian, male, or straight employees, applicants, and training program participants.' April 28: The Education Department and HHS announce a joint investigation into allegations of 'race-based discrimination' in the operations of the Harvard Law Review. May 2: Trump says that he is revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status. It's unclear whether this will actually happen, however, because federal law explicitly bars presidents from directing the Internal Revenue Service to review or change any taxpayer's or institution's tax status. May 5: The Education Department declares that Harvard is disqualified from receiving any federal grant funding in the future. May 12: Harvard releases a letter in which it acknowledges 'common ground' it shares with the administration and expresses hope that its 'partnership' with the government can be restored. That same day, the Justice Department launches an investigation into whether Harvard's admissions practices violate antidiscrimination laws. May 13: The administration's joint task force revokes an additional $450 million in grant funding over claims that Harvard has 'repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.' May 19: Another $60 million in medical research grant funding is canceled by HHS. May 22: DHS announces that Harvard can no longer host international students. May 23: Harvard sues to block the order. A federal judge temporarily rules in Harvard's favor, preventing the order from going into effect for at least two weeks to allow a more thorough legal challenge to get underway. May 27: The Trump administration orders all federal agencies to end any remaining contracts — totaling an estimated $100 million — they have with Harvard. May 29: The Trump administration issues a letter pausing its revocation of Harvard's ability to host international students for 30 days. A federal judge extends the deadline on the previous order that temporarily blocks the policy from going into effect. June 23: A federal judge issues an order indefinitely blocking the administration from revoking Harvard's right to host international students. June 27: Harvard reaches an agreement with the University of Toronto that will allow certain Harvard graduate students to attend the Canadian university if the administration succeeds in preventing them from attending college in the United States. June 30: The administration's antisemitism task force formally accuses Harvard of violating civil rights law and threatens to revoke all federal funding over the school's purported failure to protect Jewish students on campus. A letter from the task force accuses the university of being 'deliberately indifferent' to antisemitism in some cases and a 'willful participant' in attacks on Jewish people.
NBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Harvard University found in 'violent violation' of Civil Rights Act over anti-semitism, Trump admin says
Harvard University is "in violent violation" of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the federal government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said in a Monday letter threatening to cut all the school's federal funding if changes aren't made. The task force, which formed earlier this year under an executive order by President Donald Trump, wrote a letter to the Ivy League institution saying the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services concluded a Title VI investigation into anti-Semitism at Harvard. Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin. The letter outlined several violations the school allegedly committed, including: The majority of Jewish students reported experiencing negative bias or discrimination on campus, a quarter felt physically unsafe, Jewish and Israeli students were assaulted and spat on, and the campus was vandalized with anti-Semitic stickers. It also highlighted campus protests in the wake of the Israel-Palestinian war, noting such demonstrations saw "calls for genocide and murder, and denied Jewish and Israeli students access to campus spaces." The letter accused Harvard of inaction, failing to defend all groups on campus equally, and of conforming to "racial hierarchies." The government warned that if changes aren't made, all federal funding will be cut. "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. The government noted, "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." Harvard responded to the letter on Monday, saying it "strongly disagrees with the government's findings." "Antisemitism is a serious problem, and no matter the context, it is unacceptable. Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community," a university spokesperson said. Harvard said in response to the government's probe that it shared its report on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias and outlined ways it has "strengthened policies, disciplined those who violate them, encouraged civil discourse, and promoted open, respectful dialogue." "Harvard is far from indifferent on this issue," the school said. "Harvard has made significant strides to combat bigotry, hate and bias. We are not alone in confronting this challenge and recognize that this work is ongoing. We remain committed to ensuring members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard.' In June 2024, Harvard's president announced the school would implement initiatives to combat antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias on campus. Those efforts included updating campus use rules, standardizing investigations and discipline processes, creating new programs to facilitate constructive dialogue and viewpoint diversity, expanding kosher dining options, and offering workshops to incorporate antisemitism training into educational sessions.
New York Post
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump admin formally accuses Harvard of violating civil rights law over campus antisemitism
The Trump administration has formally accused Harvard University of violating civil rights laws by not doing enough to combat campus antisemitism, and is threatening to pull all federal funding from the prestige school. The stark warning came by way of a letter from the federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, claiming 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' since Hamas' terror attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 3 Demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common to protest Harvard's stance on the war in Gaza and show support for the Palestinian people. AFP via Getty Images 3 New York Post cover for Thursday, October 12, 2023. rfaraino 3 Disturbing new video shows the moment a Jewish student is surrounded by protesters on campus. X/@AvivaKlompas '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,' officials wrote in a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber Monday. The notice of violation follows an investigation led by the Department of Health and Human Services, which the administration says has given Harvard nearly $800 million in federal funds since fiscal year 2023.
Al Jazeera
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Arrests of Columbia pro-Palestine activists will not save Israel's image
In April 2024, students across the United States were mobilising to demand an end to their universities' complicity in the genocide in Gaza, I wrote an article explaining why I saw the emergence of these protests, and especially those at Columbia University's New York City campus, as a turning point in the global movement for Palestinian rights and liberation. Now, almost a year later, the federal government is fiercely cracking down on these protests, and punishing the brave souls who played a leading role in them, to protect Israel from scrutiny and conceal its undeniable complicity in its genocide. This month, Trump's government, guided by his newly formed multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, announced the cancellation of roughly $400m in federal grants to Columbia University over what it deemed a 'failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment'. Further, Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a promise to revoke 'the visas and green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported' – 'Hamas supporter' in this context is of course just a code word for anyone who supports Palestinian rights and objects to Israel's repeated violations of international law. Rubio's statement was not an empty threat. Earlier this week, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate of Columbia University who played a prominent role in last year's Gaza protests there, was arrested by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) at his Manhattan flat, in front of his American wife, who is eight months pregnant. Despite holding a Green Card, he is now being threatened with deportation. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused the former student of 'leading activities aligned to Hamas'. It is unclear whether he is facing any actual charges or being accused of a crime that could warrant this treatment. The information currently available to us about the case of Mahmoud Khalil points to a grim reality: Washington is willing to deport a legal permanent resident for playing a prominent role in protests that were critical of and upsetting to Tel Aviv. It seems the current administration is so committed to pleasing Israel and crushing students' objections to genocide that it is willing and eager to stamp on core American rights, values and liberties. But this unprecedented crackdown is also indicative of the success of these protests. Trump is willing to risk so much to silence the anti-genocide cry coming from American universities because these protests – once dismissed as meaningless 'noise' on campuses detached from wider society – have succeeded in toppling a critical pillar of Israel's well-established public relations strategy in the West. Student protests put the Palestinian struggle at the top of the national agenda, and encouraged many Americans who are normally oblivious to the events in the Middle East and get their news and commentary strictly from pro-Israel sources, to pay attention to what's happening in Gaza. As they started to pay attention, many realised Israel is not a democratic oasis in a region full of war-crazed barbarians as it has long pretended to be, but a colonial outpost, an apartheid state currently enacting genocide upon a captive population. As people turned to on-the-ground sources to understand what students on American campuses are so passionately protesting against, the contrived image of Israel as a moral force 'merely defending itself from terrorists' has crumbled. This is not just sentiment. In a Gallup poll published this month, Americans' support for Israel polled at an all-time low, and sympathy for the Palestinian plight was at an all-time high. The American administration's ongoing clampdown on student protesters is a testament to its desperation to save this crumbling facade. In its efforts to silence criticism of Israel on American campuses, the American administration is following a well-worn playbook. Taking its cues from Tel Aviv, it is conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism and then claiming it must stamp out anti-Zionism just like it works to stamp out anti-Semitism, in the name of public safety and 'shared values'. This script has gained increased traction in Congress since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. In December 2023, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a measure (House Resolution 894) that rejects the 'drastic rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world' and then goes on to 'clearly and firmly' state that 'anti-Zionism is antisemitism'. In so doing, it classifies any criticism of the state of Israel and its actions as an attack on the Jewish people. The efforts to conflate anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism to silence pro-Palestinian activism and malign those supporting Palestinian rights as hateful are also gaining ground in universities amid the Trump administration's crackdown. In January of this year, faced with two lawsuits that accused it of not doing enough to prevent anti-Semitic harassment on its campus, Harvard University agreed to adopt a broad definition of anti-Semitism to reach a settlement. This definition – a product of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) – considers certain cases of anti-Zionist or anti-Israeli criticism as anti-Semitism. Many universities facing similar lawsuits, or merely scared of attracting the ire of the Trump administration and losing federal funding, are expected to follow suit. But none of these are proving enough to stop the people in the West from recognising the truth about Israel. For many years, Israel managed to sell itself to the American public as a small but proud democracy, heroically fending off existential threats. But the carnage unfolding in Gaza has forced Americans – and the Western world – to reckon with the horrifying truth behind that tale. The Israeli military's indiscriminate shelling and ground invasions have laid waste to the entirety of Gaza, decimating families and turning schools and hospitals into rubble. Far from a small outpost of 'civilisation' in a 'barbaric' region, Israel is a ruthless US-backed nuclear-armed power with one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world, attacking Indigenous people to keep them imprisoned in a small corner of their own land. It uses a largely American arsenal to regularly ' mow the lawn ' in Gaza and the West Bank, steal more land by expanding its illegal settlements, and keeping Gaza under a land, air and sea blockade. As a genocide in Gaza unfolded over the past year and a half, photographs of dismembered children filled timelines as protesters across the US, and especially in university campuses, put the tragic realities of life under US-supported Israeli occupation under the spotlight. What is left of Israel's carefully curated image began to crumble. Politicians who support the conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism claim they are doing so to combat hatred. Yet, we see, time and again, how these same forces remain silent when Jewish activists are expelled from protests or face police violence for standing with Palestinians. If their genuine concern was anti-Semitism, they would be equally committed to defending the rights and safety of Jewish people who align with the Palestinian cause. Instead, they use the mere whisper of 'antiSemitism' to smear entire protest movements, all while funnelling billions in aid to a foreign government that has systematically denied Palestinians their humanity and statehood for more than seven decades. The truth is, the student activists at Columbia – like those at countless other universities – did not invite oppression or orchestrate some campaign of hate. They stood up for Palestinian human rights. They urged their institution to stop profiting from, or ignoring, the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza. In return, the federal government is punishing them and their school with savage fury, ensuring no academic institution dares replicate their protest without risking financial devastation.
