Federal Judge Consolidates Antisemitism Lawsuits Against Harvard

A U.S. district judge consolidated two lawsuits alleging Harvard failed to address campus antisemitism — one filed in January and the other in May — “for discovery purposes” on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns set a joint discovery deadline for May 23, 2025 in his Tuesday ruling. The motion to consolidate the lawsuits came after Stearns partially denied Harvard’s motion to dismiss both suits earlier this year.

Both lawsuits, filed by separate groups, allege that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

The January lawsuit was filed by a group of six Jewish Harvard students — including recent Harvard Divinity School graduate Shabbos “Alexander” Kestenbaum, the only named plaintiff — who alleged that the University failed to address “severe and pervasive” campus antisemitism.

The students argued that Harvard had “become a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment” in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Harvard filed a motion to dismiss Kestenbaum’s lawsuit in April, and both sides presented arguments during a hearing in July.

Stearns partially denied the motion in August, writing that the plaintiffs’ examples were sufficient for a breach of contract claim, but dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated against Jewish students.

The May lawsuit was filed by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans, which similarly accused Harvard of “deliberately” ignoring antisemitism on campus.

The lawsuit centers particularly on an incident at the Harvard Kennedy School in which three Israeli alleged discrimination on the basis of ethnic identity by lecturer Marshall L. Ganz ’64.

Though HKS Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf conducted an investigation that “found sufficient evidence” of discrimination, the students argued in the suit that the University “failed to take prompt or effective remedial action in response.”

Harvard filed a motion to dismiss the Brandeis Center lawsuit in July, and a hearing was held on Oct. 23.

On Tuesday, Stearns dismissed the claims that Harvard directly discriminated against Jewish students and that it retaliated against them for complaints about antisemitism, but granted the claim that Harvard created a “hostile educational environment.”

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that the University appreciates “that the Court dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated or retaliated against members of our community, and we understand that the court considers it too early to make determinations on other claims.”

“Harvard is confident that once the facts in this case are made clear, it will be evident that Harvard has taken significant steps to strengthen and clarify our policies and procedures, as well as engage our community around civil dialogue to bridge divides,” Newton added.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.