Agudath Israel of America blasted Harvard University’s decision to sue the Trump administration rather than cooperate with federal efforts to address the “endemic antisemitism” festering on its campuses.

The standoff comes at a time of crisis for Jewish students nationwide, as antisemitic incidents on college campuses skyrocket in the wake of the October 7th Hamas massacre. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s newly released Audit of Antisemitic Incidents: 2024, campus-related incidents rose by a staggering 84%—the steepest increase of any category.

Agudath Israel says it has received an alarming volume of reports from students who describe elite campuses spiraling into “anarchic cesspools of Jew-hatred.” And Harvard, long regarded as a symbol of academic prestige, has become a focal point in the national reckoning. Several lawsuits and active federal Title VI investigations have been filed against the university by Jewish students alleging harassment and discrimination.

Yet instead of joining peer institutions like Columbia University in working with the Department of Education to implement reforms, Harvard has taken the combative route—filing a lawsuit to block federal oversight altogether. “This approach benefits no one,” Agudath Israel said in a statement. “Federal funding will be tied up, research will be halted, and Jewish students will remain less protected.”

While Harvard claims to be taking steps to address the problem and preserve its institutional independence, Agudath Israel questioned the sincerity of those efforts. “Such claims would be more credible,” the organization said, “if Harvard had shown the same urgency and initiative in confronting the antisemitism it allowed to fester as it now does in battling the federal government.”

The group thanked the Trump administration for its “moral clarity and principled stance” in demanding real accountability from academic institutions and called on universities nationwide to show the humility required to fix what has become a systemic failure.

“In a moment that calls for bold leadership and introspection,” the statement concluded, “Harvard has chosen defiance. The Jewish community—and the nation—deserves better.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)