Harvard University President Alan Garber published a letter to the community on Monday night admitting that President Donald Trump was right about the pervasiveness of antisemitism on the university’s campus, stating he had “experienced antisemitism directly.”
Garber’s acknowledgment of antisemitism being present on campus came in a letter to the Harvard community in which he responded to the Trump administration reviewing $9 billion worth of federal grants and contracts given to Harvard University.
The Trump administration issued a statement on Monday explaining that it would be “examining about $256 million in contracts, as well as an additional $8.7 billion in what it described as ‘multiyear grant commitments.'”
“While Harvard’s recent actions to curb institutionalized antisemitism — though long overdue — are welcome, there is much more that the university must do to retain the privilege of receiving federal taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” Josh Gruenbaum, who serves as a senior official in the General Services Administration, explained.
“Earlier today, the federal government’s task force to combat antisemitism issued a letter putting at risk almost $9 billion in support of research at Harvard and other institutions, including hospitals in our community,” Garber said. “If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation.”
Garber continued to explain that the Trump administration informed the university “that they are considering this action because they are concerned that the University has not fulfilled its obligations to curb and combat antisemitic harassment.”
“We fully embrace the important goal of combatting antisemitism, one of the most insidious forms of bigotry,” Garber added. “Urgent action and deep resolve are needed to address this serious problem that is growing across America and around the world. It is present on our campus. I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university.”
NEW: Harvard President Alan Garber responds to the Trump administration reviewing $9 billion in federal funding:
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) April 1, 2025
“If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation.”
“We fully embrace the important goal of… pic.twitter.com/bX600XJn3T
As Breitbart News reported, in February, President Donald Trump chose civil rights lawyer Leo Terrell to head a multi-agency antisemitism taskforce titled the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the “first priority” of the task force is to “root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses”:
Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order on Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, the Justice Department announced today the formation of a multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. The Task Force’s first priority will be to root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.
Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak reported that at the beginning of March, the DOJ announced the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism would be going to ten university campuses and conducting investigations.
