Department of Education Ends Harvard Antisemitism Investigation

The Department of Education ended its investigation into allegations of antisemitic harassment at Harvard, after a lawsuit filed in federal court in January contained the same allegations, according to an Education Department spokesperson.

A complaint was filed with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights last fall and prompted an investigation under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.

The OCR’s case processing manual allows it to close an investigation if a lawsuit regarding the same allegations and seeking the same relief is filed against the same recipient in state or federal court.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment on the closure of the investigation.

The Jan. 10 lawsuit, which alleged Harvard failed to combat “severe and pervasive” antisemitism, was filed by six Jewish students at Harvard — including Harvard Divinity School student Shabbos “Alexander” Kestenbaum, who graduated in May and has been an outspoken critic of Harvard.

The University has motioned to dismiss the lawsuit.

The November complaint was filed after a confrontation at an Oct. 18 pro-Palestine protest on the Harvard Business School campus. An Israeli student began filming protesters’ faces as he walked around the “die-in” demonstration, prompting organizers to block his camera with keffiyehs and security vests.

Two members of the “die-in” — graduate students Elom Tettey-Tamaklo and Ibrahim I. Bharmal — were charged with misdemeanors over their involvement in the incident, and Tettey-Tamaklo was placed on indefinite leave from his role as a Harvard College proctor.

The complaint called on Harvard to expel Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo and “others that assault or harass Jewish and Israeli students.”

The OCR is still conducting a Title VI investigation against Harvard over a complaint from more than a dozen anonymous students alleging the University failed to protect them from anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab harassment and intimidation.

—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson can be reached at tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tillyrobin.