More Controversy at Harvard

Harvard University, once considered America's most prestigious university, has been shaken by one controversy after another in recent years, most of which revolve around campus anti-Semitism. In January 2024, the institution saw the forced resignation of its president, Claudine Gay, after her disastrous testimony before the House Subcommittee on Education and the Workplace, in which she (and other university presidents) were unable to coherently state that calling for the killing of Jews violated campus values!  At the same time, the school has come under fire, not only from Congress but also from the Justice Department, and has been sued civilly as a result of campus anti-Semitism.

Now comes the latest embarrassment for Harvard. The Harvard College Debate Union announced it was going to host a debate on the question of whether the granting of full rights to Jews in Europe during the Enlightenment, in exchange for full assimilation, was a good idea. As soon as objections started coming in, the planned debate was scrapped. It should have been clear to anyone with half a brain that such a debate would certainly attract all kinds of anti-Jewish arguments. Nevertheless, the campus newspaper, Harvard Crimson, posted an editorial taking issue with the cancellation.

Kenneth Markus, Director of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law, also addressed the issue in a recent Boston Herald op-ed. The Brandeis Center has recently entered into a civil settlement with Harvard, the terms of which are listed in the article. 

As Mr Markus indicates, Harvard still has a long way to go before it has rid itself of campus anti-Semitism. Ultimately, in my view, that will involve removing the purveyors of anti-Semitism from the campus.