The administration of US President Donald Trump threatened to stop Harvard University from receiving any federal funding for its Jewish and Israeli students after it accused the school of violating their civil rights.
The Trump administration’s most recent action against the nation’s oldest university comes from the announcement made on Monday, which came after the institution had previously objected to changes to how it operates.
A federal task force’s investigation found that “Harvard has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff,” according to a letter from Harvard president Alan Garber.
The letter continued, stating that the majority of Harvard’s Jewish students felt discriminated against on campus, and that a quarter felt physically unsafe.
If Harvard didn’t change its course, it also threatened to pursue additional funding initiatives.
Without going into specifics about the reforms required, it said, “Failure to implement adequate changes will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government.”
Harvard refuted the allegations in a statement.
The university claimed to have made “significant strides” to combat anti-Semitism on campus and that it had “made significant strides” to combat “bigotry, hate, and bias.”
It stated that it was “committed to making sure members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard” and that it was “recognizing that this challenge is not alone.”
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated at a White House briefing that Harvard and the Trump administration were having “behind closed doors,” but she did not provide more information.
protests against Israel’s occupation of Gaza
Since the alleged anti-Semitism on campus erupted last year amid widespread student protests against Israel’s occupation of Gaza, US universities have been in the spotlight.
Trump has accused those organizing these protests of anti-Semitism and called them “illegal.” However, protest leaders, including Jewish students, have defended their actions as peaceful responses to Israel’s actions, which have raised questions about genocide-related human rights violations.
Harvard has been barred from enrolling international students for some $ 2.5 billion in federal grant money, and the Trump administration has threatened to end its tax-exempt status.
It has urged Harvard to repeal all policies that promote what it calls harassment and criminal activity, as well as banning all forms of affirmative action in faculty hiring and admissions.
Additionally, it called for changes to the admissions procedure to “prevent admitting international students hostile to American values,” including “students supporting terrorism or anti-Semitism.”
Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration, calling its actions “retaliatory” and “unlawful” after rejecting those demands.
Additionally, the Trump administration targeted prestigious universities like Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern.
Columbia received $ 400 million in federal funding cut from its budget in early March, following a similar protest camp that students at colleges across the nation copied.
Following that, the school consented to a list of demands from the Trump administration. Changes to its disciplinary policies and Middle Eastern studies program were among those included.
James Ryan, president of the University of Virginia, also stated last week that as the Trump administration investigated the school’s efforts for diversity, equity, and inclusion, he opted to step down rather than fight the US government.
The University of California system, which enrolls nearly 300, 000 students, is the subject of a federal anti-discrimination law investigation launched by the Trump administration around the same time.
Source: Aljazeera
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