Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) have sent a letter to Harvard University President Dr. Alan Garber, criticizing the university’s alleged obstruction of an investigation into an assault on a Jewish student on campus. The assault occurred following a protest held by Harvard’s Palestine Solidarity Committee in response to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
The lawmakers’ letter highlights the October 18, 2023, “die-in” protest at Harvard Business School, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, where demonstrators protested Israel’s defensive actions. During the event, an Israeli-American Harvard Business School student was physically assaulted and harassed by other students. The incident was reportedly recorded from multiple angles and reported to Harvard administrators, who identified two of the alleged assailants as current Harvard students. However, according to Stefanik and Foxx, no serious disciplinary action has been taken by the university against the attackers.
The letter expresses strong concern over Harvard’s decision to block the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from investigating the assault, calling it an unprecedented and “brazen” refusal to cooperate with a law enforcement agency. Stefanik and Foxx wrote, “Harvard is shielding those who physically assaulted a Jewish student on Harvard’s campus by preventing a state prosecutor from moving forward with the state’s investigation.”
Additionally, the letter requests documents related to Harvard’s decision not to cooperate with the investigation, as part of an ongoing inquiry into allegations of antisemitism at the university, led by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The issue of antisemitism on college campuses has received increased scrutiny in recent years, and this case marks a significant escalation in the attention being directed at Harvard’s handling of incidents involving Jewish students. The university has not yet responded publicly to the letter or the accusations.
