Judge dismisses antisemitism lawsuit against MIT, allows one against Harvard to move ahead

A federal lawsuit accusing Massachusetts Institute of Technology of tolerating antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel has been dismissed while a similar one against Harvard University can continue.

The MIT lawsuit accused the university of approving antisemitic activities on campus and tolerating discrimination and harassment against Jewish students and faculty. In dismissing the lawsuit July 30, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns noted that MIT took steps to address on-campus protests that posed a potential threat to Jewish students.

“Plaintiffs frame MIT’s response to the conflict largely as one of inaction. But the facts alleged tell a different story,” Stearns wrote. “Far from sitting on its hands, MIT took steps to contain the escalating on-campus protests that, in some instances, posed a genuine threat to the welfare and safety of Jewish and Israeli students, who were at times personally victimized by the hostile demonstrators."

The judge drew a sharply different conclusion about Harvard, moving toward a trial on the university's claim that it had done its best to balance its responsibilities of protecting free speech and preventing discrimination among its students.

Ruling on Aug. 6 that parts of that lawsuit can move forward, Stearns wrote that Harvard’s response to antisemitic incidents “was, at best, indecisive, vacillating, and at times internally contradictory.”

Fallout from the Israel-Hamas war roiled campuses across the United States during the last school year and reignited a debate over free speech.

College leaders have struggled to define the line where political speech crosses into harassment and discrimination, and both Arab and Jewish students have raised concerns that schools are doing too little to protect them. Some have complained that universities have gone too far in cracking down on pro-Palestinian protesters by arresting and suspending students, while others said they've been too tolerant of encampments that sprung up on campuses.

MIT said Thursday that the ruling in its case speaks for itself.

“We appreciate that the Court carefully assessed the allegations and dismissed plaintiffs’ claims,” MIT said in a statement. “Our leaders have and will continue to support our students and focus on making it possible for all of us to share the campus successfully while pursuing MIT’s vital mission.”

The StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice filed the lawsuit against MIT along with two students. Its director, Carly Gammill, expressed her disappointment on Thursday, saying they had sought to “hold MIT accountable for failing to protect Jewish and Zionist students from antisemitic hate on its campus.”

“We are immensely grateful to the courageous students and attorneys who made this case possible,” Gammill said. "The SCLJ will continue its efforts to hold bad actors responsible — whether for perpetuating or showing deliberate indifference to antisemitism — on behalf of students at MIT and campuses across the country.”

Students Against Antisemitism, Inc., accuses Harvard of violating Jewish students’ civil rights by tolerating them being harassed, assaulted and intimidated — behavior that has intensified since the Oct. 7 attack.

The judge Stearns dismissed the plaintiffs’ allegations that they were directly discriminated against by Harvard University. He said former president Claudine Gay and interim president Alan Garber repeatedly recognized “an eruption of antisemitism on the Harvard campus.”

But Stearns said there were many instances where the university “didn't respond at all” and ”failed its Jewish students."

“We are gratified that the Court has upheld our clients’ civil rights claims against Harvard," Marc Kasowitz, a partner at the law firm that brought the suit, said in a statement. "We intend to continue to take all necessary and appropriate steps to protect Harvard’s Jewish students, the first step being discovery of Harvard’s internal files and communications to prove the full nature and extent of Harvard’s failures.”

In a statement, Harvard said it "will continue to take concrete steps to address the root causes of antisemitism on campus and protect our Jewish and Israeli students, ensuring they may pursue their education free from harassment and discrimination.

“We appreciate that the Court dismissed the claim that Harvard directly discriminated against members of our community, and we understand that the court considers it too early to make determinations on other claims,” the statement continued. "Harvard is confident that once the facts in this case are made clear, it will be evident that Harvard has acted fairly and with deep concern for supporting our Jewish and Israeli students.”