Harvard antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces find rampant prejudice on university campus

Two Harvard University task forces on Tuesday released reports that detail allegations of rampant prejudice on the school's campus, including examples of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

The antisemitism task force found that the prejudice against Jewish people had infiltrated coursework, social life, the worldview of certain academic programs, and even its hiring of some professors and faculty, the New York Times reported.

The task force investigating the allegations of Islamophobia conducted a survey of Muslim students and faculty, which found that 92% of respondents said they believed they would face an academic or professional penalty for expressing their political opinions.

Harvard President Alan Garber apologized for the results of the investigations, which he claimed was partly because of the Israeli-Hamas conflict that has been waged for over a year and a half in Israel, and promised to address the underlying issues.

“The 2023-24 academic year was disappointing and painful,” Garber wrote in a letter alongside the reports. “I am sorry for the moments when we failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community. Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry."

The reports, which encompassed hundreds of pages, come the day after Harvard announced it was changing the name of its diversity, equity, and inclusion office (DEI) to “Community and Campus Life."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.