Former Harvard University president Larry Summers said Friday that Harvard is violating federal civil rights laws by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.
As Breitbart News has reported, the anti-Israel protests at Harvard have featured disruptions near student dormitories and antisemitic chants. Many Jewish students fear for their safety and are struggling to study.
Summers posted his statement on X (formerly Twitter) to agree with Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) that Harvard is violating the Civil Rights Act by allowing a pro-Palestinian encampment to occupy Harvard Yard, chanting radical antisemitic slogans and disrupting study and exams.
I agree w my congressman, Democrat Jake Auchincloss, that Harvard is in ongoing violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws. https://t.co/ZOcdgi14Lj
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) May 3, 2024
Summers is no longer the president of Harvard but remains a professor at the school.
The Boston Herald reported:
The Massachusetts Congressman on Thursday visited Harvard University, where an encampment popped up on April 24, and spoke with Jewish and Israeli students. The interactions, he said, provided a clear indication that the Cambridge campus is in violation of Title VI.
…
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race, color, or national origin discrimination in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, including harassment based on a person’s shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
Harvard has been under the federal microscope for potential discrimination following antisemitism complaints since Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7.
The Trump administration extended federal civil rights protections to Jewish students on campus in 2019 by declaring that Jews would be protected as a racial group or nationality and not just as a religious group.
That change was necessary as radical anti-Israel protests on campus became the primary form of antisemitism encountered by Jewish students — a phenomenon that has exploded since October 7, with sit-ins and “encampments.”
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has been investigating Harvard and other universities, as has the Republican-led House. But Attorney General Merrick Garland and Department of Justice Civil Rights Division head Kristen Clarke have been silent.
Clarke is set to address Columbia Law School’s commencement on Monday, just days after the New York Police Department removed anti-Israel students who had violently occupied a campus hall.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
