Harvard University settled two complaints Tuesday with groups that had accused university leaders of mishandling antisemitism on campus and failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 deadly attack on Israel and Israel’s ferocious invasion of Gaza in response.
The complaints grew out of a tumultuous period for Harvard, which faced backlash from alumni, donors and the U.S. Congress over its response to the Oct. 7 attacks and resulting Pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. One complaint brought by Jewish Harvard graduate student Alexander Kestenbaum and Students Against Antisemitism claimed that pro-Hamas students and faculty members were promoting violence against Jews, harassing them and assaulting them on campus and that Harvard leaders failed to address it. The other was brought by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education.
It’s unclear if the changes will satisfy several of the university’s long-time billionaire benefactors—including Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin and Pershing Square Capital Management founder and CEO Bill Ackman—who halted donations to the university after then-president Claudine Gay testified before Congress. A spokesperson for Griffin declined to comment, and Ackman did not return a request for comment.
British-American businessman Len Blavatnik, who also ceased giving to Harvard after Gay’s testimony, told Forbes Tuesday: “I’m pleased that Harvard is finally taking meaningful steps to address antisemitism on campus and I look forward to further progress in the months ahead.” He did not comment on whether he’d resume giving.
Per the settlement agreements, Harvard will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism (which includes claiming the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor) as part of its anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies. “The Harvard agreement is important in part because it is detailed about how harassment, marginalization, or exclusion of Zionists can violate anti-discrimination policies. In recent months, we have seen some other universities move in this direction, such the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and New York University. Harvard’s approach is the most prominent and detailed to date,” says Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and former U.S. assistant secretary of education under President Donald Trump.
The university will also post a Frequently Asked Questions page about its discrimination policies, which will include the statement: “For many Jewish people, Zionism is a part of their Jewish identity. Conduct that would violate the Non- Discrimination Policy if targeting Jewish or Israeli people can also violate the policy if directed toward Zionists. Examples of such conduct include excluding Zionists from an open event, calling for the death of Zionists, applying a ‘no Zionist’ litmus test for participation in any Harvard activity, using or disseminating tropes, stereotypes, and conspiracies about Zionists (e.g., ‘Zionists control the media’), or demanding a person who is or is perceived to be Jewish or Israeli to state a position on Israel or Zionism to harass or discriminate.”
Harvard will hire someone in its Office for Community Conduct to handle complaints of antisemitism and prepare annual reports for the next five years that recap the complaints and Harvard’s response. The university will also establish an official partnership with a to-be-determined Israeli university. Monetary terms were part of both settlements, but details were not disclosed.
Former Harvard president Lawrence Bacow, who led the university from July 2018 to June 2023 and was succeeded by Gay, says he’s “very comfortable” with the settlement agreements. “They are not likely to quell the controversy on campus over the war in Gaza but Harvard has committed to take important and needed steps to prevent legitimate debate from spilling over into hatred and discrimination,” Bacow wrote in an email to Forbes. “The agreements should stimulate more teaching, scholarship, and public awareness of antisemitism and its consequences.”
Harvard’s fundraising totals fell 15% between fiscal 2023 and 2024, from $1.4 billion to $1.2 billion, likely because of the antisemitism controversies and leadership turnover. Griffen, who has given more than $500 million to the university, including a $300 million gift that put his name on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, halted his giving in January of 2024. He told an audience at the Managed Funds Association conference that same month: “There is no room in my world for anti-Semitism and for calls for genocide, there’s just not. And it was heartbreaking to me to watch the testimony in front of Congress when asked a very simple question about how would you react to calls for genocide on campus. I mean, this is a simple answer. You can ask my lawyers, but I’m going to tell you, as the president of fill in the blank university, there is no tolerance for calls for genocide on my campus.”