Harvard’s twin task forces on combating bias toward Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian affiliates released their long-awaited reports on Tuesday afternoon — describing an atmosphere of fear and exclusion, as well as deep divisions over curricula, protests, and the scope of academic freedom.
The reports, each hundreds of pages long, urged Harvard to implement sweeping changes that would alter everything from the University’s oversight of programs and disciplinary processes to its academic programming and admissions policies.
As a result of the task forces’ findings, Harvard will instruct school deans to strengthen academic review processes for courses and curricula, will review admissions policies at each school to ensure they evaluate candidates’ willingness to engage with diverse perspectives, and is “actively exploring” the establishment of a major new center for pluralism.
In a message releasing the reports, Garber described accounts in the reports as “searing” and lamented “the reported willingness of some students to treat each other with disdain rather than sympathy, eager to criticize and ostracize.”
“Some students reported being pushed by their peers to the periphery of campus life because of who they are or what they believe,” Garber wrote. He apologized for the times when the University “failed to meet the high expectations we rightfully set for our community.”
Jewish and Israeli students told task force members that they experienced social shunning and hostility from peers who blamed them for the Israeli government’s actions. Some said peers would refuse to talk with them because they came from “a genocidal country” or attend social gatherings where Israeli students were present. Several reported dropping classes they felt were one-sidedly anti-Israel.
Muslim students, meanwhile, said their peers lost jobs over their involvement in Muslim faith organizations and faced verbal and physical abuse on campus. Palestinian students said they found navigating daily life challenging and isolating with the ongoing war in Gaza — a feeling only exacerbated by a perceived lack of empathy from administrators, faculty, and staff.
In one account, a Muslim student said an individual poured alcohol over their Palestinian friend as he was standing outside of his dorm wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional garment often worn for pro-Palestine advocacy. Another anonymous student recounted being called a “terrorist,” “baby-killer,” “towelhead,” and “antisemite” during their freshman year because of their decision to wear a keffiyeh.
