Trump Threatens to Pull Harvard Funding over Anti-Genocide Protests

Boston (Quds News Network)- The Trump administration has accused Harvard University of violating the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students and threatened to cut off all federal funding to the US’s oldest university after it refused earlier demands to change its operations following anti-genocide campus protests.

In a letter sent to Harvard president Alan Garber on Monday, a federal task force claimed its investigation has concluded that “Harvard has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff”.

It also threatened further funding acts if Harvard did not change course.

“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” it said, without elaborating what the reforms needed were.

Tensions have been rising for months between elite universities and the Trump administration. Trump has vowed to “reclaim” institutions he claims are dominated by “radical ideology” after it allowed anti-genocide protests on campus.

The administration framed its actions as part of a push against antisemitism following nationwide protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

In April, the administration sent Harvard a list of demands. It called for audits of professors, reports on international students accused of misconduct, and the appointment of an outside official to oversee “viewpoint diversity” across departments.

Harvard has rejected those demands, and sued the administration, calling its actions “retaliatory” and “unlawful”.

The Trump administration has frozen some $2.5bn in federal grant money to Harvard, moved to block it from enrolling international students and threatened to remove its tax-exempt status.

In response to the Monday allegations, Harvard said that it had taken “substantive, proactive steps” to combat anti-Semitism on campus, and had made “significant strides to combat bigotry, hate and bias”.

“We are not alone in confronting this challenge and recognise that this work is ongoing,” it said, adding that it remains “committed to ensuring members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard”.

The Trump administration has also gone after top colleges, including Columbia, Cornell and Northwestern. The universities have, meanwhile, said that the Trump administration’s actions threaten academic freedom and free speech, as well as critical scientific research.