Harvard University must face a lawsuit after it "failed its Jewish students" and neglected to address anti-Semitism on campus, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in Boston.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns wrote in the 25-page ruling that the Ivy League school repeatedly failed to address "an eruption of antisemitism" on campus and said anti-Israel protesters engaged in repetitive harassment.
"The protests were, at times, confrontational and physically violent, and plaintiffs legitimately fear their repetition," Stearns wrote. "The harassment also impacted plaintiffs' life experience at Harvard; they dreaded walking through the campus, missed classes, and stopped participating in extracurricular events."
Six Jewish students, who filed the federal lawsuit in January, alleged that the school failed to address "severe and pervasive" anti-Semitism on campus. The suit argues that Harvard's "deliberate indifference" and "enabling" of anti-Semitism violates Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Stearns did not rule on the merits of the allegations, but he did say the plaintiffs "plausibly pled" that they faced an abusive environment toward Jewish students.
The judge was also "dubious" of Harvard's claim that it had allowed unauthorized protests to continue for the sake of free speech. Instead, he said the school's reaction was "at best, indecisive, vacillating, and at times internally contradictory."
"To conclude that the [plaintiffs' complaint] has not plausibly alleged deliberate indifference would reward Harvard for virtuous public declarations that for the most part, according to the allegations of the [complaint], proved hollow when it came to taking disciplinary measures against offending students and faculty," said Stearns. "In other words, the facts as pled show that Harvard failed its Jewish students."
The ruling is the latest update in a string of allegations accusing Harvard leadership of leaving anti-Semitism on its campus unchecked in the months following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.
The university initially sought to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that the school had taken "tangible steps" to investigate and tackle anti-Semitism on its campus.
"We appreciate that the Court dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated against members of our community, and we understand that the court considers it too early to make determinations on other claims," university spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement. "Harvard is confident that once the facts in this case are made clear, it will be evident that Harvard has acted fairly and with deep concern for supporting our Jewish and Israeli students."
One plaintiff, recent Harvard graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, celebrated the judge's decision in a social media post.
"Onward to victory! Today, a judge ruled that our lawsuit against Harvard WILL go to trial! Jewish students will continue to speak up," he wrote. "Am Yisrael Chai!"
The students' lead attorney, Marc Kasowitz, similarly celebrated.
"We are gratified that the Court has upheld our clients' civil rights claims against Harvard," Kasowitz said. "We intend to continue to take all necessary and appropriate steps to protect Harvard's Jewish students, the first step being discovery of Harvard's internal files and communications to prove the full nature and extent of Harvard's failures."
Harvard faces a similar lawsuit from a leading civil rights organization, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. The organization accused Harvard of allowing "cruel anti-Semitic bullying, harassment, and discrimination" to take place on campus for years without any action by the Ivy League's leaders.