US federal judge tosses Harvard motion to dismiss antisemitism lawsuit

One of the plaintiffs in the Harvard suit, Shabbos Kestenbaum, expressed delight that he and his fellow students will have their day in court.

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

A US federal judge has “in part” denied Harvard University’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing school officials of failing to respond to a slew of antisemitic incidents which occurred on the campus during the 2023-2024 academic year, clearing the case to proceed to trial.

Filed in January by six Harvard students, the complaint alleges that the university “selectively” applied policies which proscribe ethnic and racial intimidation, standing down whenever Jewish students reported being browbeaten and harassed by pro-Hamas students and faculty.

In response, Harvard charged that the plaintiffs “lack standing” and attempted to have the suit thrown out of court.

On Tuesday, US District Court Judge Richard Stearns rejected the university’s argument in a 25-page decision, describing the university’s handling of antisemitism as “indecisive, vacillating, and at times internally contradictory.”

He noted that at one point Harvard dean Stephen Ball attended a “vigil for martyrs” which commemorated terrorists and that Harvard police officers declined to intervene when a Jewish student “was openly ‘charged’ and pushed.”

However, Stearns dismissed a portion of the lawsuit which accused Harvard of violating Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act by refusing to crack down on pro-terror, antisemitic protests, describing the school’s bias as “viewpoint” discrimination.

This aspect of the ruling, while leaving intact a portion of the suit involving a student accusing Harvard of breach of contract, allowed the university to claim a victory on Tuesday.

“We appreciate that the court dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated against members of our community, and we understand that the court considers it too early to make determinations on other claims,” a Harvard spokesman said in a statement shared with The Harvard Crimson.

“Harvard is confident that once the facts in this case are made clear, it will be evident that Harvard has acted fairly and with deep concern for supporting our Jewish and Israeli students.”

Stearns’ ruling on Harvard’s motion to dismiss was highly anticipated.

Last week, he tossed a suit which lodged similar accusations against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In his decision, the judge, who was appointed to the bench in 1993 by former US President Bill Clinton (D) and served as a political operative for and special assistant to Israel critic and former Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern, accused the Jewish plaintiffs of expecting MIT officials to be “clairvoyant” in anticipating a surge of antisemitism.

He also rejected their argument that pro-Hamas demonstrators at MIT intentionally violated the civil rights of Jewish students by, as is alleged, calling for a genocide of Jews in Israel and perpetrating numerous other acts of harassment and intimidation.

On Tuesday, one of the plaintiffs in the Harvard suit, Shabbos Kestenbaum, expressed delight that he and his fellow students will have their day in court.

“Onward to victory,” Kestenbaum tweeted. “Today, a judge ruled that our lawsuit against Harvard Yard will go to trial. Jewish students will continue to speak up. Am Yisroel Chai!”

The past year has been described by experts as a low point in the history of Harvard University, America’s oldest and, arguably, most important institution of higher education.

Since the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas across southern Israel, the school has been accused of fostering a culture of racial grievance and antisemitism, while important donors have suspended funding for programs.

In just the past nine months, its first Black president, Claudine Gay, resigned in disgrace after being outed as a serial plagiarist; Harvard faculty shared an antisemitic cartoon on social media; and protesters were filmed surrounding a Jewish student on campus and shouting “Shame!” into his ears.

According to the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Harvard has repeatedly misrepresented its handling of the explosion of hate and rule breaking, launching a campaign of deceit and spin to cover up what ultimately became the biggest scandal in higher education.

A report generated by the committee as part of a wider investigation of the school claimed that the university formed an Antisemitism Advisory Group (AAG) largely for show and did not consult its members when Jewish students were subject to verbal abuse and harassment, a time, its members felt, when its counsel was most needed.

The advisory group went on to recommend nearly a dozen measures for addressing the problem and offered other guidance, the report said, but it was excluded from high-level discussions which preceded, for example, the December congressional testimony of former president Gay — a hearing convened to discuss antisemitism at Harvard.

So frustrated were a “majority” of AAG members with being an accessory to what the committee described as a guilefully crafted public relations facade that they threatened to resign from it.

On Saturday, the Harvard Corporation formally appointed Alan M. Garber as its president, following several months in which he served as the university’s “interim” leader.

The decision, according to The Harvard Crimson, rewarded Garber’s “deft handling of the converging crises facing the university.”

The paper added that Garber is the first undergraduate alumnus to serve as president “in more than 50 years.”

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