2 Months After Settlement, Kestenbaum Seeks To File Amended Antisemitism Complaint Against Harvard

Harvard Divinity School graduate Alexander “Shabbos” Kestenbaum and two unnamed plaintiffs asked on Thursday to file an amended complaint against Harvard in federal district court, seeking to continue their Title VI lawsuit alleging Harvard failed to fight campus antisemitism.

Kestenbaum, the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit by Students Against Antisemitism — a group of six Harvard students that sued Harvard in January 2024 over antisemitism claims — refused to settle with the group in January, opting to pursue additional litigation under a new counsel.

In May, the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education accused the University of creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and “deliberately” ignoring antisemitism by delaying its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. A judge consolidated the two suits in November.

One of the unnamed plaintiffs intending to join Kestenbaum in the amended complaint is a member of the SAA, and the other sued Harvard with the Brandeis Center.

The amended complaint will not add any new legal claims or theories to Kestenbaum’s case against Harvard and will also remove allegations by the SAA.

Harvard and the two anonymous plaintiffs discussed the possibility of a settlement until early March, according to documents filed by Kestenbaum’s attorneys on Thursday. But the plaintiffs decided to pursue an amended complaint after the conversations became “futile,” Kestenbaum’s attorneys wrote.

Emails attached to the court filings show that Harvard signaled opposition to the amended complaint. A lawyer from the firm WilmerHale representing Harvard wrote that amendments would be “highly prejudicial and unduly delay adjudication” of the case.

But a lawyer for Kestenbaum wrote that, because the settlements were negotiated after an amendment deadline on Dec. 6, the students had no way to know whether they would be willing to accept the terms.

The lawyer also wrote that Harvard first submitted documents to the court on March 5, less than three months before the current close of discovery on May 23 — which he described as unacceptably tight scheduling.

Kestenbaum’s counsel asked the court to extend the discovery deadline by at least six months if it rejects the motion to file an amended complaint.

A University spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As of Thursday night, Harvard had yet to file its opposition in court.

In Harvard’s original settlement with the SAA and Brandeis Center, the University paid the groups an undisclosed amount, clarified that its non-discrimination policies protect Israeli and Jewish students, and adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which is widely used but has drawn criticism from pro-Palestine activists and some free speech advocates.

But Kestenbaum and the two plaintiffs were not satisfied with the settlement’s terms. In a January post on X, Kestenbaum wrote that he hopes to depose former Harvard President Claudine Gay, current President Alan M. Garber ’76, and other University officials — an outcome that can only occur if a discovery process continues.

Kestenbaum’s lawsuit is only one of a series of challenges that Harvard has faced over its handling of antisemitism allegations.

Last Tuesday, the Department of Education announced Harvard, along with 60 other colleges, would be monitored for discrimination against Jewish students. And less than two weeks prior, a federal antisemitism task force announced that it would visit Harvard and nine other universities to probe allegations of campus antisemitism.

Kestenbaum has been a vocal supporter of the Trump administration’s efforts against Harvard, writing in a Thursday post on X that he plans to “continue speaking with DOGE, policymakers, and the Federal Antisemitism Taskforce to ensure Harvard's federal funds are revoked and its endowment taxed.”

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.