US court dismisses Trump admin lawsuit over alleged Harvard antisemitism

A U.S. federal court has thrown out a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against Harvard University, which accused the institution of allowing antisemitism during pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. The ruling represents a significant blow to the administration's efforts to challenge major American universities.

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the government had not sufficiently proven that Harvard breached a Civil Rights Act provision that bars discrimination along race, nationality and other lines.

District Judge Richard Stearns, based in Boston, concluded that the government had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Harvard had breached a provision of the Civil Rights Act. This act prohibits discrimination based on race, nationality, and other factors.

The lawsuit, filed in March by the Department of Justice, alleged that Harvard's "faculty and leadership turned a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis." It cited incidents where "anti-Israeli demonstrators occupied its libraries" and an "anti-Israeli encampment to persist for twenty days in violation of university policy."

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Harvard faculty and leadership turned a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis.

However, Judge Stearns granted Harvard's request to dismiss the case, stating that the incidents cited by the Trump administration were "too isolated and episodic" to prove noncompliance with the Civil Rights Act. This decision counters the administration's broader campaign against universities it claims are giving free rein to pro-Palestinian movements amidst the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

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Harvard let anti-Israeli demonstrators occupy its libraries. Harvard allowed an anti-Israeli encampment to persist for twenty days in violation of university policy.

This is not the first setback for the Trump administration's actions against Harvard. The administration had previously attempted to freeze billions of dollars in funding for the university, alleging it tolerated antisemitism and harbored liberal bias. A federal judge ruled that move largely unlawful last September, ordering the funds to be restored.

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the incidents raised by the Trump administration were too isolated and episodic to prove noncompliance with the Civil Rights Act.