Separate reports have found that Harvard students and staff face both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in a deeply biased atmosphere located on the campus of one of the top universities in the United States.
The release of Tuesday’s report follows the establishment of a separate task force on the fight against anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiment last year amid a protest on the campus over Israel’s war with Gaza.
Harvard also claims that Trump has in response to ramp-stopping anti-Semitism on campus as he is caught up in a legal battle with US President Donald Trump over the administration’s decision to freeze more than $2 billion in university funding.
In a statement releasing the findings, Harvard President Alan Gerber reported that members of Jewish, Israeli and Zionist communities were hiding “obvious markers of their identity to avoid conflict,” while members of Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities were “judgment, misrepresented and silent.”
“What’s particularly bothering me is the report of a willingness to treat each other lightly rather than sympathy, especially when given the anonymity and distance that social media provides,” Gerber said.
“Some students reported that they were forced by their peers into the periphery of campus life because of who they are and what they believe, and eroding a shared sense of community in the process.”
The Task Force on the Fighting Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israel Bias in its report stated that biases were “promoted, practiced and tolerated” more widely within Harvard University and academia.
An online survey found that 26% of Jewish students reported feeling physically unsafe, while 39% felt they were not at university homes, the task force said.
Almost 60% of Jewish students report experiencing “discrimination, stereotypes, or negative bias” due to their opinions, and only 25% believe there is no “academic or professional penalty” to express their views, the task force said.
Among other examples of bias cited in the report, the task force said Israelis have said they have said they are “adjusted to social discrimination” from their first day on campus.
“People refuse to tell you, they don’t even pretend to be good. [a] The polite attitude they face when they discover [I am] Israelites, and don’t talk [me] Again, I quoted the report as being said by a student.
The task force on fighting anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian biases has found similar environments of hostility that explain the “fear of deep sitting” among students and the state of “uncertainty, abandonment, threat and isolation” on campus.
“The Muslim woman wearing a hijab and Palestinian pro-Palestinian student has spoken about being faced with verbal harassment and being called “terrorists” and even spitting out,” the task force said.
“The issue of Doxxing was particularly highlighted as an important concern that affects not only physical safety and mental well-being, but also future career outlook,” adding that it refers to the practice of disclosing individuals and identifying information online.
Almost half of the Muslim students and staff surveyed reported feeling physically unsafe on campus, with 92% saying they believe they will face professional or academic penalties to express their political views.
“As Muslim students, we have lived in constant fear,” the task force quoted as saying by a nameless student.
“There was a truck that was displaying the faces of Muslim students and driving on campus for several months. My peers who lost their jobs due to being in leadership in Muslim faith organizations, no longer dry out once the offer was cancelled.
Both task forces have issued a set of recommendations on fighting bias on campus, including expanding access to legal services equipped to combat DOXXING and prioritizing admission for students to support open investigations.
Gerber said the university will double its efforts to ensure that “ideas are welcome, entertained and contested in a spirit of truth seeking” and “mutual respect is the norm.”
“In particular when tensions are high, unique individuals with complex beliefs and identities must embrace the challenge of looking at each other, as we really do.
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