It may have taken the might of federal lawsuits, but the supposed gem of American universities has finally decided that antisemitism might just be a bad thing to allow on campus.
In a settlement of two federal lawsuits, Harvard University agreed to change its policies to better prevent antisemitic harassment on campus. That includes a bunch of mandated diversity training for staff, an academic symposium, and “additional resources to study antisemitism.” However, it also includes useful things that can make a meaningful difference in how the university operates.
For example, Harvard will be adopting the definition of antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which says, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
That includes “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” applying different standards to Israel than any other nation on the planet, and comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. In other words, all those Harvard student activists harassing Jewish students while ranting and raving about Israel being an “apartheid state” that is committing “genocide” for defending itself against Palestinian terrorists will be recognized by Harvard as the antisemites they are.
Harvard will also post its own examples of antisemitic behavior, which includes “calling for the death of Zionists” and “excluding Zionists from an open event.” The university will also be more transparent for the next five years on outcomes of complaints of bias to show that antisemitic students violating policies aren’t getting lighter punishments than students who insult Harvard’s sacred cow identity groups.
It’s a far change from the Harvard regime of former President Claudine Gay, who couldn’t confirm that calling for a genocide of Jews was against Harvard policy before she was forced out of the role due to a plagiarism scandal. Hopefully, Harvard’s new president will cite the IHRA definition of antisemitism when the university implements it.
These are all welcome changes for Harvard, which has coasted off the name recognition of being “Harvard” while leading the decay of academia from its Ivy Tower. Harvard made concessions to students who launched antisemitic encampments on campus, bent the knee to academic faculty, lifted suspensions for antisemitic protesters/harassers, and walked back the decision to block 13 students from receiving their diplomas (at least for 11 of them).
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Harvard still has a ways to go, of course. The university has been a breeding ground for antisemitism and the type of woke DEI mindset that leads someone to support Hamas terrorists. The problem goes deeper than the petulant student body. It extends to hate-filled professors and staff with victimhood complexes, something that isn’t going to be changed with mandatory antisemitism training or an academic symposium.
Any change from Harvard would have to start at the top, with a sincere desire to change, not a forced change through federal lawsuits. Without that, Harvard is just a collection of people coasting on a brand, pretending to be the elite minds that were synonymous with the name, looking for ways to allow antisemitism without being dragged into court.