House Education Committee Subpoenas Harvard University for Obstructing Antisemitism Investigation
In a historic move, the House Education and the Workforce Committee has subpoenaed Harvard University for obstructing an investigation into antisemitism. This marks the first time in over 150 years that the Republican-led committee has taken such action, highlighting the seriousness of the issue at hand.
The committee sent subpoenas to several key figures at Harvard, including Penny Pritzker, Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation, Dr. Alan Garber, Interim President, and N.P. Narvekar, CEO of Harvard Management Company. The subpoenas were issued due to their failure to produce “priority documents” related to the ongoing probe. The investigation was initiated after concerning testimony from the presidents of three prominent universities during a December hearing.
Harvard has been given a new deadline of March 4th to submit crucial materials pertaining to all antisemitic acts or incidents that have occurred since the beginning of this year. The committee is requesting documents that date back far enough to conduct a thorough examination of the university’s handling of alleged antisemitism.
Education Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx expressed her disappointment with Harvard’s lack of cooperation, stating, “Harvard’s continued failure to satisfy the Committee’s requests is unacceptable… while Harvard’s Jewish students continue to endure the firestorm of antisemitism that has engulfed its campus.” Foxx emphasized the urgency of the situation and vowed not to tolerate any further delays or defiance.
Harvard, in response, maintains that it takes antisemitism seriously and stated that “Antisemitism has no place in the Harvard community.” A spokesperson for the university labeled the subpoenas as “unfortunate” and highlighted the university’s previous efforts in providing comprehensive responses across ten submissions. These responses directly address the key areas of inquiry raised by the committee.
The decision to issue subpoenas was made after a thorough review of Harvard’s latest submission of documents. However, Chairwoman Foxx expressed her disappointment, revealing that nearly half of the documents submitted by the university have already been publicly available.
Among the materials requested in the subpoenas are all communications related to the alleged harassment of a Jewish student during a “die-in” protest, pro-Palestinian protests, and an event called “Israel Apartheid Week.” These incidents have raised significant concerns about the university’s response and handling of antisemitic incidents.
The hearing in December witnessed Republican Conference Chair and Harvard alum Elise Stefanik calling the testimony of university presidents “morally bankrupt” and demanding their resignations. Liz Magill, President of Penn, was the first to resign following the hearing. The committee is currently investigating Penn for a pattern of “deeply troubling” events and incidents of antisemitic vandalism and harassment on campus.
Claudine Gay, President of Harvard, also resigned under mounting pressure after her testimony. However, both Penny Pritzker and Harvard Corporation openly supported Gay amidst the backlash over her responses during the congressional hearing.
The committee has also launched an investigation into Columbia University and its affiliate all-women’s school, Barnard College. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has initiated investigations into Harvard and Columbia earlier this month, further emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
As this investigation unfolds, it remains to be seen how Harvard will respond to the subpoenas and whether they will be able to address the concerns raised by the committee satisfactorily. The issue of antisemitism on college campuses continues to be a pressing matter that requires immediate attention and action.
