House Republicans accused Harvard University in a letter sent Wednesday of “willfully obstructing” an investigation into an assault on a Jewish student.
House Committee on Education and the Workforce chair Virginia Foxx and member Elise Stefanik sent the letter to Harvard president Alan Garber Wednesday expressing concerns over the university’s alleged lack of compliance with an ongoing antisemitism investigation following several incidents of alleged anti-Jewish bias, including Harvard’s failure to assist in identifying students involved in an attack on a Jewish student.
“We write, yet again, to express our serious concern and sincere outrage over Harvard University’s handling of antisemitism in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks,” the letter reads. “Harvard has continued its rapid decline, its latest actions consisting of willfully obstructing the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from investigating a physical assault against a Harvard Jewish student that took place on Harvard’s campus. Such behavior is wholly unbecoming of a supposedly prestigious university—and, frankly, of any decent institution.”
The letter cites an Oct. 18 incident in which a Harvard student was “physically assaulted and harassed” by protesters and claims the university “has yet to take any serious disciplinary action against the students” despite multiple reports to university administrators. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office charged two of the attackers, who were identified on video, but Harvard allegedly refused to assist the department in identifying the other students involved and sidelined the university police officers involved in forwarding the case, according to the letter.
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
Court proceedings for the attackers that have already been identified have been stalled due to Harvard’s noncompliance, the letter states.
“In other words, Harvard is shielding those who physically assaulted a Jewish student on Harvard’s campus by preventing a state prosecutor from moving forward with the state’s investigation,” Foxx and Stefanik wrote. “This incident is the latest chapter in Harvard protecting antisemites. We are disgusted by the continued disregard that Harvard has shown towards the Jew hatred erupting on its campus. It is clear from Harvard’s recent actions that it does not take antisemitism seriously. Instead, Harvard harbors and protects it.”
Foxx and Stefanik are demanding the university turn over all related communications and documents regarding the incident by Sept. 30, according to the letter. (RELATED: ‘Queering Education’ And ‘Street Dance Activism’: A Look At Elite University’s Course Catalog)
“It is obvious from Harvard’s latest stint in obstructionism that it believes protecting its campus antisemites is more important than providing a safe learning environment to all its students,” the letter concludes. “This decision is unacceptable, and Harvard must make public its decision and reasons for its lack of cooperation with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.”
The committee originally opened an investigation into Harvard and several other elite universities, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), following the universities’ presidents testimony regarding antisemitism on campus in which they refused to state whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate university policy. Then-Harvard president Claudine Gay was forced to step down after facing harsh criticism.
Foxx subpoenaed Harvard in February for documents relating to other alleged antisemitic incidents after the university failed to produced information requested through earlier letters. The university currently faces a lawsuit from Jewish students who allege the university has not done enough to protect them from antisemitic incidents.
Harvard hosted a slew of anti-Israel protests throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, including hunger strikes and a disruptive walkout during the school’s May graduation ceremony.
Harvard did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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