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Journalism of Courage
WHY NOW?
Harvard University and the Trump administration have locked horns over allegations by the latter that the university has failed to contain anti-Semitism.
Harvard filed a lawsuit on Monday (April 21) against the administration seeking to end the federal funding freeze on the university. Effectively, access to $2.2 billion in funding has been cut off, while the administration is considering revoking an additional $1 billion in grants.
Anti-Semitism, as we understand it today, refers to any form of prejudice against the Jewish people, particularly the use of stereotypes.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental organisation formed in 1998, provided the following working definition of anti-Semitism: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
However, the term itself is a misnomer as Semitic designates a language group, not a race. In a linguistic sense, the term could describe prejudice against speakers of the Semitic languages (including Arabs and Ethiopians).
WHY HAS ANTI-SEMITISM BEEN CONTENTIOUS?
A primary reason has been the enduring legacy of Nazism, which converted anti-Semitism into an institutional attack on Jewish people, ranging from a boycott of Jewish products and social ostracisation and culminating in the Holocaust.
Following the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, on October 7, 2023, and the resulting Israeli military onslaught into Palestine that has ensued since then, anti-Semitism has been used by detractors in the context of pro-Palestine protests. The Trump administration has adopted this understanding in pursuing universities and sites of such protests to shut them down.
WHY THE FUNDING FREEZE?
The federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism visited ten university campuses, including Harvard, in February to gather information about alleged “antisemitic incidents”.
The task force subsequently sent letters to the university demanding a “federal review” of over $8.7 billion in federal research grants for failing to combat “antisemitic harassment”. Its letter to Harvard on April 11 demanded that it comply with conditions, including stopping its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, and having its student body and staff audited by an external party, to continue receiving federal funding.
