Mar 20, 2026, 7:41 p.mMar 20, 2026, 7:41 p.m
The US government is tightening its pace in the dispute with the elite Harvard University. The Ministry of Justice has sued the university for discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students, the authority said in a statement. After the Hamas terrorist attacks in October 2023, the university tolerated “anti-Semitic mobs” and did not adequately protect threatened students.
The Trump administration is suing Harvard University.Image: keystone
Justice Minister Pam Bondi said, according to the statement, that the lawsuit underlines the government’s goal of demanding more commitment from universities and no longer tolerating discrimination. “Since October 7, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed anti-Semitism to spread on campus – including Harvard.” Just at the end of February, the Justice Department filed a similar lawsuit against the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Removal of funding was not permitted
The conflict is part of a larger dispute between the Trump administration and several top universities. The White House accuses parts of the university landscape of having a left-liberal orientation and inadequate measures against anti-Semitism, while at the same time trying to exert political influence through funding.
Harvard came under particular pressure. The university had temporarily withdrawn state research funds, but a federal court declared this unlawful and ordered the funds to be released.
It was only at the beginning of February that Trump sharply attacked Harvard: His government was demanding one billion US dollars (around 865 million euros) in damages from the university and no longer wanted any relationships with it in the future. At that time too, the accusation was, among other things, anti-Semitism. (hkl/sda/dpa)