Harvard, Northwestern failed Jewish students during college campus protests: House report

A new GOP-led antisemitism report revealed Harvard University refused to call Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel "violent," and Northwestern University considered taking Sabra hummus off campus. 

The 365-page report summarized a yearlong investigation by the House Education and Workforce Committee, collected from more than 400,000 documents from 11 schools across the country into how they responded to a wave of pro-Palestinian protests in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. 

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According to the report, while drafting a public statement to make after Oct. 7, Harvard University senior administrators edited out the word "violent" to describe the attack after a dean complained it "sounded like assigning blame." 

They mulled whether to disavow a declaration put out by some student groups that Israel was responsible for the violence, but ultimately decided not to. 

Northwestern University President Michael Schill, who testified before the committee last spring, expressed an openness to removing Sabra hummus from campus to appease protesters. 

The report said Schill appointed anti-Israel faculty to negotiate with the students who camped outside in protest of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. One suggested removing the popular hummus brand. 

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Hundreds of graduates walked out of the 2024 Commencement in Harvard Yard to call attention to the plight of Palestinians. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

"It’s a very sore spot for Palestinians because it’s an Israeli hummus brand that’s penetrated most college campuses," he said in a text message.

The provost responded, "I’m all for making a deal. Bargaining in action!"

Another suggestion taken under consideration, according to the report, was hiring an anti-Zionist rabbi. 

However, Northwestern denied ever "seriously" considering boycotting any Israeli company. 

Schill also excluded Jewish members of his President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate, according to the report. 

The report also accused multiple schools of withholding support from Jewish students and found it to be intentional rather than negligent. 

"The Committee’s investigation found that in multiple cases, these failures came not from mere ignorance or lack of forethought, but rather from intentional decisions by university leaders not to provide their campuses’ Jewish communities the necessary support needed to ensure they felt safe to live on campus or attend classes," the report read.  

Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard University on Tuesday, Jan. 2, in the wake of controversies that sullied the reputation of America's oldest and one of its most prestigious universities.

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The report also discovered Harvard President Claudine Gay, who resigned after testifying on antisemitism before the committee and accusations of plagiarism, asked the university not to label the phrase "from the river to the sea" antisemitic, worried they would then have to discipline students who used it. 

At Columbia, the report revealed how administrators trying to bring an end to the pro-Gaza encampment considered making bigger concessions than they had previously let on, including proposals to divest from companies "complicit in violating international law" or that "manufacture certain categories of weapons" and partnering with a Palestinian university "where Hamas is active on campus." 

The report also highlighted incidents when universities refused to punish students, including Columbia, which allowed some students to go without punishment after they took over Hamilton Hall.

In a Dec. 10 board meeting, five days after Gay took the hot seat before the committee, she sharply criticized Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the House Republican conference chair whose sharp line of questioning led in part to Gay's resignation. 

Columbia students organize dueling memorials and rallies on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

Gay told the board it was hard to have the university's "moral core" called into question, "esp[ecially] by someone who is a purveyor of hate" and "supporter of Proudboys."

The GOP-led report concluded the universities likely violated Title VI and demanded universities enforce more accountability. 

"Our investigation has shown that these ‘leaders’ bear the responsibility for the chaos likely violating Title VI and threatening public safety. It is time for the executive branch to enforce the laws and ensure colleges and universities restore order and guarantee that all students have a safe learning environment," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. 

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Northwestern, in a statement, objected to "unfair characterizations of our Provost and valued members of our faculty based on isolated and out-of-context communications" in the report.

"The Republican Staff Report remains focused on events that were fully debated in the committee hearing last spring, and it ignores the hard work our community has put in since then to improve our policies and procedures."