A Jewish student filed a bombshell lawsuit against Harvard University Thursday accusing the school of protecting students who assaulted him, and enabling an antisemitic campus environment.
Yoav Segev, a Jewish student who recently received a master’s degree from Harvard Business School, sued Harvard and its police department for allegedly refusing to discipline a mob of anti-Israel students who assaulted him on campus shortly after Hamas’s mass atrocities on October 7, 2023.
“Harvard’s antisemitic discrimination against Mr. Segev is far more sinister than inaction and indifference. Harvard did everything it could to defend, protect, and reward the assailants; to impede the criminal investigation; and to prevent Mr. Segev from obtaining administrative relief from the University,” the lawsuit reads.
“Harvard’s antisemitic discrimination against Mr. Segev is not an isolated incident. It is part of a much larger pattern and practice of institutionalized antisemitism and mistreatment of Jewish students.”
National Review has reached out to Harvard for comment on Segev’s lawsuit.
The assault took place when Segev, who was wearing a bracelet symbolizing his Israeli identity, walked by a pro-Palestinian protest happening on October 18, 2023. The demonstration featured anti-Israel demonstrators and was organized by anti-Israel student activist organizations.
As Segev walked and quietly filmed, self-proclaimed “safety marshals” around the demonstration accosted him and asked him to leave the area. One student shoved a keffiyeh in his face and another student wearing a mask and black hood leapt at Segev. More people began gathering around him with keffiyehs and put them in his face, with one demonstrator putting his arm on Segev’s neck.
The mob kept descending on Segev, grabbing and physically pushing him away from the demonstration. He pleaded with them to stop in order to deescalate the situation. It did not stop the mob from continuing to shove keffiyehs and protest signs at him, and yell at him as he was surrounded.
The lawsuit details the bullying and harassment Segev faced from Harvard students and professors following the attack, and Harvard’s efforts to avoid disciplining the students and prevent Segev from pursuing administrative remedies. Several students and faculty criticized Segev for the attack and blamed it on him, despite videos showing otherwise.
The lawsuit argues Harvard’s approach to the assault on Segev flies in the face of its steadfast commitment to preventing discrimination against other “favored” minority groups.
Harvard allegedly obstructed the local criminal investigation into the suspected attacks and had its campus officer stop investigating it. Harvard created a new school policy and claimed it could not discipline the suspects during a criminal investigation, but the school never initiated the disciplinary process after the criminal proceedings ended.
The attackers were rewarded by the school and graduated in good standing even though they appeared to assault another student. One of the suspects received a prestigious $65,000 Harvard Law Review fellowship and profiles on various school website. Another one was designated a “marshal” at Harvard’s graduation.
When Segev sought updates from Harvard on its internal investigation, he was largely ignored. After waiting for more than a year, Segev filed an administrative complaint and did so publicly because Harvard refused to let him do it anonymously, the lawsuit says. Harvard rejected Segev’s complaint because it purportedly completed the investigation into the incident, but would not share with him the results of the investigation.
Later on, Segev pursued litigation against Harvard while being a student at the university and did so with a pseudonym to protect his identity. During the litigation, Harvard collected his school emails and put articles about him in public filings, effectively outing him.
Segev’s lawsuit condemns Harvard’s antisemitic campus environment and the anti-Israel protests that have occurred since Hamas fighters killed over 1,200 civilians and abducted over 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. It lists numerous anti-Israel and antisemitic incidents on campus since October 7 to substantiate its claim that the discrimination Segev suffered from is part of a larger pattern.
“Harvard has discriminated against Mr. Segev and other Jewish students, in violation of state and federal civil rights laws and in breach of its contract with Mr. Segev,” the lawsuit asserts.
“These violations and the hostile environment on campus deprived Mr. Segev of a safe learning environment, which he was guaranteed by law and by school policy. It has also caused Mr. Segev serious emotional, reputational, and professional harm.”
Segev brought the case in Massachusetts district court and is seeking significant damages. Prominent law firm Holtzman Vogel is representing him and filed the lengthy lawsuit on his behalf.
Earlier this year, Harvard’s antisemitism task force released a report detailing how antisemitic harassment severely disrupted the academic and social lives of Jewish students. Likewise, the Trump administration concluded in June that Harvard violated civil rights law by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitic harassment. Those findings all came after Harvard settled lawsuits brought by Jewish students over antisemitism and agreed to create more protections for Jewish and Israeli students.
Harvard is one of numerous prestigious universities to see a surge in campus antisemitism and anti-Israel activism during Israel’s multi-front war in the Middle East. Anti-Israel activists set up tent encampments at Harvard and many other schools last year when protests become commonplace at colleges nationwide.
The Trump administration has canceled billions worth of federal funding for Harvard and is attempting to ban it from enrolling international students. Harvard is challenging the federal government’s actions in court and last month a judge permitted it to keep hosting international students.