In Last Month, Harvard Police Increased Security at Jewish Events

Updated September 24, 2024, at 9:45 a.m.

Harvard University Police Department and local police forces have increased security measures at Jewish and Israel-related events on campus in the last month.

At a Sunday event hosted by the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance, security measures included dozens of personnel from the Cambridge Police Department, Longwood Campus Security, Securitas, and HUPD. According to an HUPD officer, the Secret Service was also present. A Secret Service officer flew a drone over Annenberg through the duration of the event.

HUPD Spokesperson Steven G. Catalano declined to comment, citing department policy. The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A University spokesperson also declined to comment for this article.

HUPD also stationed a Mobile Command Center behind Annenberg during the HJAA event. More than one week ago, the Command Center was also parked in the Science Center Plaza where over 1,000 affiliates, including Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, gathered for Shabbat 1000.

Harvard Hillel Rabbi Jason B. Rubenstein wrote in a statement that HUPD recently increased the security provided to Hillel in response to a Mezuzah that briefly went missing from a student’s door earlier this month. Rubenstein added that the measures are in response to a nationwide increase in hate crimes against Jewish people during the last year.

“The increased HUPD presence is highly appreciated by our students and community, especially given that over the past weekend several unrecognized Harvard-affiliated groups slandered Harvard Hillel and Chabad as accomplices to genocide and mass murder,” Rubenstein wrote.

HUPD first increased their presence on campus in response to increased threats against students — including doxxing attacks and online threats — following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel last year.

CPD spokesperson Robert Goulston wrote in a statement that CPD has managed protests regularly on Cambridge university campuses since October 2023. He added that CPD relies on a Memorandum of Understanding with HUPD which outlines how CPD will assist if needed on Harvard’s campus.

“Throughout the entire process, we have been actively working with our partners to make sure we have a situational awareness of all the protests in our area,” Goulston said.

Danny O. Denenberg ’26, the Israel Chair of the Hillel Board who spoke at the event Sunday, said that high levels of security are now “very normal” for Jewish events on campus.

“I think something that’s very Jewish is getting used to seeing security at a lot of events,” Denenberg said. “It’s just a sad part, I think, about when you get a lot of Jewish people together, there’s always going to be tight security.”

Rubenstein wrote that while he appreciates Harvard’s “immediate steps” to provide greater security, the lack of day-to-day security places an “unsustainable financial burden” on Hillel, as the center pays for its own building security presence out of pocket.

“We hope that Harvard will build on its provision of police, by providing day-to-day protection for its Jewish students and institutions, and making clear that the safety of Harvard’s Jewish community is a priority for the University,” Rubenstein wrote.

—Staff writer Rachael A. Dziaba can be reached at rachael.dziaba@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @rachaeldziaba.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.