Harvard wants to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim prejudice after protests against the war in Gaza

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts – Two working groups tasked with developing proposals to combat anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian prejudice and anti-Semitism at Harvard University have presented preliminary recommendations to the university’s interim president, Alan Garber.

The recommendations released Wednesday focus on more than a dozen areas where schools can act quickly, officials said.

“We must strengthen our bonds through a sustained commitment to treat one another with tact, decency and compassion,” Garber wrote.

The recommendations follow a difficult academic year for the university, which ended with student protests against Harvard’s response to the Israeli war in Gaza.

Although each task force reported very different experiences from community members, some common themes emerged, including the perception that the university is not living up to its stated values, particularly those that celebrate diversity while respecting differences.

“Managing diversity responsibly is a very important skill that all of our students should have, regardless of what school they attend. When these skills and the tools to manage them are lacking, it has serious consequences for our world,” Ali Asani, co-chair of the Task Force to Combat Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab and Anti-Palestinian Bias, said in a statement.

Jared Ellias, co-chair of the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, said Harvard must be aware that its global ambitions mean the university will bring together “a completely different group of people whose commonality is their excellence.”

He said that teaching students does not mean sugarcoating conflicts between classmates, teachers and future colleagues, neighbors and friends.

“I think we need to start being more conscious of saying that we don’t agree with every idea that everyone has, and we don’t agree with every version of the world that people want to create,” he said.

School officials said the recommendations underscore the need to create a safe environment for community members, including by publicly condemning the consequences of harassment, including doxxing – the publication or sharing of private information as an act of punishment or retaliation.

The task force also recommended a Harvard-wide review of academic resources related to Islamic, Middle Eastern, and Palestinian studies, as well as Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Islamic studies, across all of the university’s departments.

Many Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and pro-Palestinian Harvard University members said they felt physically and career-wise unsafe as students, faculty and staff when they expressed their opinions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the report said.

The task force members also called on the school to take action against what they described as ridicule, social exclusion and hostility towards the Jewish, Israeli and pro-Israel community.

“Teacher training and student orientation programs must make clear the difference between a challenging classroom atmosphere that is healthy and constructive and a threatening one that is toxic,” said Derek Penslar, co-chair of the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.

The task force also called for more comprehensive educational work on the issue of anti-Semitism.

Another recommendation is that the school should improve the availability of kosher and halal food in the dining halls.

“All of our students have a right to convenient access to delicious and nutritious food,” Penslar added. “Unless Harvard provides this type of accommodation, it is a sign that religiously oriented Jewish and Muslim students are not welcome here.”

Harvard University announced the task forces in January as it struggled with its campus’s response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

The establishment of the working groups was a consequence of the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, who faced strong reactions because of her testimony before Congress on the subject of anti-Semitism and allegations of plagiarism.

Some Jewish students filed a lawsuit against Harvard earlier this year, accusing the university of becoming a “hotbed of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.”

Towards the end of the academic year, pro-Palestinian students and activists set up camps on college campuses across the country, including Harvard. At some locations, police were called in to clear these camps.

Protesters at Harvard voluntarily dismantled their tents last month after university officials agreed to discuss their questions about the endowment. The protesters remained at odds with the university after it announced that 13 students who participated in a protest camp would not be allowed to receive their diplomas alongside their classmates.

At Harvard University’s graduation ceremony, hundreds of students in graduation robes left Harvard Yard chanting “Free, free Palestine.”