A group of Jewish faculty and staff at Harvard are criticizing the Trump administration’s recent actions against the university. More than 100 people affiliated with the university signed an open letter, first published in the student newspaper The Crimson, asserting that the administration is weaponizing antisemitism to target Harvard and other universities.
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Harvard last week and opened new civil rights investigations on Monday, looking into the school’s admissions practices and complaints of antisemitism on campus.
“In our view, the Trump administration does not aim to protect Jewish people at Harvard,” the Harvard faculty letter states. “Using accusations of antisemitism to attack academic freedom and free expression is reprehensible — and we want no part in it.”
“History shows that government attacks on higher education aimed at curbing free expression and scapegoating minorities and left-leaning academics will only harm Jewish communities, while advancing a broader agenda of censorship and persecution,” the letter continued.
Professor Steven Levitsky, who teaches government at Harvard, helped organize the letter. He said the faculty oppose what he called “a broader authoritarian project” and are urging the Justice Department to drop its lawsuit.
“Jews thrive in a democratic environment with free, independent universities, freedom of expression, and broad protection of civil liberties,” he told GBH News. “And this administration’s behavior is threatening those things.”
This administration’s latest actions against Harvard are part of a series of moves that began after President Donald Trump returned to office last year.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights says it is responding to complaints and has demanded Harvard turn over admissions data within 20 days or face unspecified consequences. The administration says it wants to ensure the university is complying with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling banning the consideration of race in admissions.
In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said “no one — not even Harvard — is above the law,” adding that the administration will hold the university accountable if discrimination is found.
Harvard has repeatedly said it complies with the law and values its Jewish community, and argues that the latest federal action is retaliation for asserting its constitutional rights.
Harvard had been negotiating a settlement with the administration over the past year, but those talks appear to have stalled.
The lawsuit follows a ruling last year by a federal judge in Boston blocking the administration’s attempt to strip Harvard of federal research funding. The judge said the government appeared to be using claims of antisemitism as “a smokescreen.” In a separate ruling defending UCLA, another federal judge in California said there is “overwhelming evidence” that the Trump administration has a “playbook” that involves using pretextual charges of antisemitism to extort universities.
