Pro-Palestinian students sue Harvard for failing to protect them from harassment

A group of students from Harvard are suing their university for failing to protect them from intense harassment they have experienced following their support for Palestinians amid Israel's war in Gaza. 

The legal complaint, which was filed on Monday, 29 January, by more than a dozen students, alleges that the university failed to protect them from threats to their personal safety and livelihoods. They are demanding an investigation into what they believe is the targeting of them based on their Arab, Muslim and Palestinian backgrounds and their support for Palestinians.

"As a Palestinian student at Harvard, the racism and harassment I have faced is shocking, terrifying, and outrageous," said one of the students, according to a public statement by the Muslim Legal Fund of America, which filed a legal complaint with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.

"We have been chased, spat at, stalked, and hounded by doxxing trucks on campus and even at our families' homes. On top of worrying about my family’s safety in Palestine, I'm living in fear of being attacked while walking to class. No student should have to live like this," the student continued.

The move follows months of tension on campus following Hamas's surprise attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis. Since then, Israel's continuous bombing of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians (including in the West Bank) and wounded more than 65,000, most of them civilians.

As Israel began its military campaign against Gaza, pro-Palestinian students organised demonstrations advocating for a ceasefire and some signed joint statements blaming Israel for the war. Pro-Israeli groups accused these chants and statements as an indication of support for Hamas or for the genocide of Jews. This led to a congressional hearing in which presidents of top universities were grilled on allegations of antisemitism on campus, leading to the resignation of Harvard's president.

"We are proud to help these brave students find a voice and assert their rights to learn free and safe from harm, consistent with the First Amendment of our nation’s Constitution," said Christina A. Jump, lead attorney for the students, in MLFA's public statement.  "They deserve that, just like any other student — let them learn, and learn in a safe space."

In its statement, MLFA cited a 7 November letter from the US Department of Education for Civil Rights addressing concerns about threats to Jewish, Muslim, Arab American, Palestinian Americans and other communities at US universities.

MLFA's statement notes, "We urge the Office of Civil Rights to swiftly open an investigation into Harvard’s failure to protect its students, and ensure accountability for Harvard’s permissive discrimination against these students."