News
How Cambridge Is Fighting the Trump Administration in Court
News
How Grievances at the Harvard Law Review Became Ammunition for the White House
News
A Divinity School Program Became a Political Liability. In One Semester, Harvard Took It Apart.
News
In Fight Against Trump, Harvard Goes From Media Lockdown to the Limelight
News
The Changing Meaning and Lasting Power of the Harvard Name
The Department of Education ended its investigation into allegations of antisemitic harassment at Harvard, after a lawsuit filed in federal court in January contained the same allegations, according to an Education Department spokesperson.
A complaint was filed with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights last fall and prompted an investigation under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
The OCR’s case processing manual allows it to close an investigation if a lawsuit regarding the same allegations and seeking the same relief is filed against the same recipient in state or federal court.
University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on the closure of the investigation.
The Jan. 10 lawsuit, which alleged Harvard failed to combat “severe and pervasive” antisemitism, was filed by six Jewish students at Harvard — including Harvard Divinity School student Shabbos “Alexander” Kestenbaum, who graduated in May and has been an outspoken critic of Harvard.
The University has motioned to dismiss the lawsuit.
The November complaint was filed after a confrontation at an Oct. 18 pro-Palestine protest on the Harvard Business School campus. An Israeli student began filming protesters’ faces as he walked around the “die-in” demonstration, prompting organizers to block his camera with keffiyehs and security vests.
Two members of the “die-in” — graduate students Elom Tettey-Tamaklo and Ibrahim I. Bharmal — were charged with misdemeanors over their involvement in the incident, and Tettey-Tamaklo was placed on indefinite leave from his role as a Harvard College proctor.
The complaint called on Harvard to expel Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo and “others that assault or harass Jewish and Israeli students.”
The OCR is still conducting a Title VI investigation against Harvard over a complaint from more than a dozen anonymous students alleging the University failed to protect them from anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab harassment and intimidation.
—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson can be reached at tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tillyrobin.
Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.