Harvard Asks Judge to Dismiss DOJ Antisemitism Lawsuit

Harvard University filed a 49-page motion in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice. The government sued the university in March, alleging Harvard was deliberately indifferent to antisemitic and anti-Israeli harassment following the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. The Justice Department claims Jewish and Israeli students were harassed, stalked, and physically assaulted while the administration did nothing, and is seeking sweeping remedies including the appointment of an outside monitor, a ban on future federal funding, and the restitution of nearly $1 billion in previously issued grants.

Harvard rejected the allegations, arguing the government's claims rely on an outdated snapshot of the campus environment and are legally deficient. The university detailed extensive reforms it has undertaken over more than two years to address campus tensions, including new protest rules, updated facility rules, and the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into its policies. Harvard characterized the lawsuit as an unconstitutional retaliation campaign intended to punish the university for exercising its institutional autonomy and First Amendment rights after it refused to capitulate to government demands.

The motion now sits before U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns. This legal clash is the latest escalation in a broader conflict between Harvard and the federal government, which previously froze federal research funding to the university. Harvard filed a separate lawsuit nearly one year ago challenging that funding freeze.