The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a federal lawsuit against Harvard University on Mar. 20, alleging that the school violated a federal civil rights law by discriminating against Jewish and Israeli students.
The DOJ claims that since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, the university has allowed antisemitic groups of students, faculty, and visitors who have allegedly assaulted, harassed, and intimidated Jewish and Israeli students “with perceived racial, ethnic, and national connections to Israel” to express their opposition to Israel.
“Harvard has been deliberately indifferent to its Jewish and Israeli students’ plight and failed to prevent such conduct by selectively enforcing its campus rules to permit it to continue,” The DOJ shared in a press statement published on their website.
The 44-page complaint is the latest effort in the Trump administration’s ongoing legal battle with Harvard since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term. The administration has also sought to cancel billions of dollars in federal funding to the university in response to Harvard’s alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus.
According to CBS News, the school previously sued the Trump administration over its efforts to freeze funding. A federal judge ruled in Sept. 2025 that the government violated both Harvard’s First Amendment rights and federal law by blocking nearly $2 billion in federal grants.
“Since October 7th, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed anti-Semitism to flourish on campus – Harvard included,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to the media statement. “Today’s litigation underscores the Trump Administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students.”
“The United States’ complaint seeks to compel Harvard to comply with Title VI [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964], and to recover the taxpayer funds that Harvard accepted while in violation of Title VI,” DOJ wrote.
