The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently opened an investigation into alleged cases of anti-Semitism at Harvard University following the violent Israel-Hamas conflict. According to a letter Kristi R. Harris, chief attorney for the OCR Boston office, the organization will determine if Harvard properly responded to these purported incidents.
The inquiry will determine if the Ivy League school “failed to respond to alleged harassment of students based on their national origin (shared Jewish ancestry and/or Israeli) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI.”
“Please note that opening the complaint for investigation in no way implies that OCR has made a determination on the merits of the complaint. During the investigation, OCR is a neutral factfinder, collecting and analyzing relevant evidence from you, the University, and other sources, as appropriate,” the letter states. “Our goal is the prompt resolution of the complaint,” Harris said, commenting that the complaint could be resolved before the conclusion of the investigation or through mediation with the university.
The letter mandates that Harvard must not interfere with the investigation. “Please be advised that the University must not harass, coerce, intimidate, discriminate, or otherwise retaliate against an individual because that individual asserts a right or privilege under a law enforced by OCR or files a complaint, testifies, assists, or participates in a proceeding under a law enforced by OCR,” the letter continued. “If this happens, the individual may file a retaliation complaint with OCR.”
The initial complaint was filed with the OCR by an anonymous Harvard alumni who alleged the university discriminated against students by improperly responding to incidents of harassment last month. Reportedly, the complaint was in response to a first-year student at Harvard Business School who was allegedly pushed and harassed by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Harvard has also received backlash from a Jewish philanthropic foundation for the school’s unwillingness to condemn Hamas following the deadly attack against Israel last month. The Wexner Foundation formerly offered aid to Israeli public officials seeking a master’s degree from Harvard. However, the organization noted that the values propagated at the institution no longer align with the Wexner Foundation.
The organization denounced Harvard for its insufficient response to the violence perpetrated against Israel by Hamas that claimed the lives of many innocent civilians. “We are stunned and sickened at the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists last Saturday, the Sabbath and a festival day,” the foundation wrote.
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Wexner claimed that the Israelis they sponsor to attend the Harvard Kennedy School feel “abandoned.” Therefore, the foundation feels that the institution no longer serves as an institution where those of Israeli descent can grow.
“Since then, many of our Israel Fellows no longer feel marginalized at HKS [Havard Kennedy School]. They feel abandoned. … Our core values and those of Harvard no longer align. HKS is no longer a place where Israeli leaders can go to develop the necessary skills to address the very real political and societal challenges they face,” the foundation concluded.
Featured image credit: EllenSeptember, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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