Congress gives Harvard two weeks to produce documents for antisemitism investigation

A letter from the House Committee cites ‘grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Harvard’s response to the anti-Semitism on its campus.’

The John Winthrop House and gate in Harvard Yard. Picture: iStock.

A House committee on Tuesday requested a laundry list of documentation from Harvard University in its investigation into anti-Jewish activity at the school and the steps Harvard has taken to address it.

The committee gave the school two weeks to produce documentation related to Jewish students and antisemitism, including internal emails and text messages between board members, proof of disciplinary actions for harassment of Jewish students, and information on all foreign donations and funding, namely from Qatari sources.

The 9-page letter, sent by the same committee that last month called then Harvard President Claudine Gay to testify about the school’s response to antisemitism, cites “grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Harvard’s response to the anti-Semitism on its campus.” The letter is the latest salvo in a series of inquiries and backlash that have resulted in the resignations of Gay and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill related to how elite schools are dealing with antisemitism on their campuses in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war.

Supporters of Palestine rally at Harvard University. Picture: AFP.

Despite Gay’s departure, “Harvard’s institutional failures regarding antisemitism extend well beyond one leader,” the committee wrote.

A spokesperson for Harvard said the university is reviewing Foxx’s letter and will be in touch with the committee regarding the request.

The committee’s request includes “all reports of antisemitic acts or incidents and related documents and communications since January 1, 2021.” It enumerates two dozen categories of requested information including the results of any disciplinary processes involving the targeting of Jews, Zionists or Israelis; reports of allegations of hate crimes or disruption of access to safe learning environments; and any legal or financial settlements by Harvard in response to complaints of discrimination, harassment or violations of free speech.

The letter is signed by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.), chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. It is addressed to Penny Pritzker, the senior fellow at the Harvard Corporation, and Alan Garber, Harvard’s interim president.

The committee also wants data showing Jewish enrolment numbers at Harvard College and the university’s graduate and professional schools since 2003. In addition, it asks for documents related to any attempt by the schools “to understand the reasons for any such changes or trends.” The request includes communications from the school’s office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging relating to Jews and antisemitism.

Claudine Gay was forced to quit as President of Harvard University. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

The far-reaching request goes on to seek meeting minutes and informal communications such as texts or other electronic messages from the Harvard Corporation and Board of Overseers, the university’s top two governing bodies, as well as posts by Harvard students and faculty targeting Jews on social media.

The House committee hearing on Dec. 5 centred on testimony from Gay, Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth. Politicians and others criticised the presidents for equivocating during the hearing.

“When asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate Harvard’s code of conduct, Dr. Gay replied that ‘it depends on the context,’” Foxx wrote in the letter to Harvard.

In the letter, Foxx described the climate at Harvard as troubling. She quoted a report about the 2021-22 school year by the AMCHA Initiative, a non-profit that documents antisemitism on college campuses, that found that among 109 campuses surveyed, with 25 incidents Harvard had the highest rate of threats to Jewish identity.

“There is evidence antisemitism has been pervasive at Harvard since well before the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack,” Foxx wrote, referring to Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel.

Dow Jones