Gottheimer Asks Harvard to Publish Plan to Protect Jewish Students

Rep. Josh S. Gottheimer (D-N.J.) demanded Harvard publicly outline its plan for protecting Jewish students from campus antisemitism in a Friday letter to University President Alan M. Garber ’76.

The letter, sent days before the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, was also addressed to the presidents of eight other universities, including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.

“As a university president it is imperative that you prepare a detailed plan to ensure the safety of Jewish students,” Gottheimer wrote.

Though much of the criticism of the University to date has come from the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Gottheimer’s letter signals that Harvard still faces broad, bipartisan scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Rep. Jake D. Auchincloss ’10 (D-Mass.) told Fox News in May that Harvard had “become ransacked by antisemitism,” echoing committee threats to reevaluate the University’s federal funding.

While Gottheimer, a Harvard Law School alumnus, stopped short of criticizing the University’s policies on protest, he wrote that if the University does not better support Jewish students on campus, it may be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which would put its federal funding at risk.

“This is a defining moment and we cannot stand idly by as protesters have and continue to call for the death of Jews and the annihilation of the State of Israel,” Gottheimer wrote.

“The First Amendment does not give students the right to bully, intimidate, and instill fear onto other students,” he added.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that “Harvard has and will continue to be unequivocal that antisemitism will not be tolerated on our campus.

“We have taken, and continue to take, actions to combat hate and to promote and nurture civil dialogue and respectful engagement,” Newton wrote.

The University was sued in January by a group of current and former Jewish students who alleged Harvard failed to address severe campus antisemitism. The Department of Education is also currently investigating Harvard for a Title VI claim that the University did not protect Palestinian and Muslim students from discrimination on campus.

Over the past year, Harvard administrators have imposed a series of new or newly clarified restrictions on protests and the use of campus space, effectively limiting protests to outdoor spaces and banning unapproved signage.

Since he was first appointed in January, Garber and other top University officials have also signaled a new desire to enforce the policies, warning protesters they should be “prepared to be held accountable” for violations.

Most recently, the University temporarily banned more than 12 students from Widener Library for participating in a silent pro-Palestine demonstration by studying with signs in the building’s main reading room.

In an email to Harvard Libraries staff, Vice President for the Harvard Library Martha Whitehead wrote that “even when it is quiet, such an assembly changes a reading room from a place for individual reflection to a forum for public statements and a challenge to some users.”

“It undermines our commitment to provide an inclusive space to all users,” she added.

While members of Congress have focused on pro-Palestine protests in letters to Garber, the presidential task force to address antisemitism has yet to release its final set of recommendations, which are expected later this semester.

The initial task force report released in June was met with anger from House Republicans, who called the recommendations “weaker, less detailed, and less comprehensive” than a set of private recommendations compiled by the antisemitism advisory group formed by former Harvard President Claudine Gay.

The University’s dining services expanded its kosher food options in August, implementing one of the task force’s preliminary recommendations.

Gottheimer’s request for information follows an earlier letter from House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.) and House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) asking the University to detail its plan to respond to protests.

Gottheimer, however, suggested Harvard has been too permissive of hate speech on campus.

“While differing views are a critical part of building cultural understanding, they cannot provide a bully pulpit for those who seek to divide others and spew hate,” Gottheimer wrote.

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar can be reached at emma.haidar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @HaidarEmma.

—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles can be reached at cam.kettles@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cam_kettles.