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Judge Tosses DOJ Case Against Harvard Over Jewish Student Safety

A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's civil rights lawsuit against Harvard over alleged antisemitism, ruling the cited incidents were too scattered to prove systematic violations.

Eleni Papadaki-Van Der Merwe Staff Writer

AUGUST 13, 2026 AT 8:21 PM

US District Judge Richard Stearns, a Clinton appointee, ruled Thursday that the administration’s March complaint relied on incidents that were too scattered across time to demonstrate systematic noncompliance with federal civil rights law, according to Josh Christenson writing in New York Post.

In his written order, Stearns determined that the Trump administration’s amended complaint presented evidence that was too isolated and episodic to support a plausible inference of ongoing institutional violations of Title VI at Harvard.

The judge noted that nearly all incidents cited in the government’s case occurred during the 2023-2024 academic year. Only three alleged incidents took place afterward, all happening in March 2025 — roughly one year before the lawsuit was filed and more than a full academic year after the bulk of the complained-of conduct.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit had accused Harvard of turning a blind eye to antisemitic conduct and discrimination targeting Jewish and Israeli students on campus, amid a nationwide surge in campus antisemitism following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks on Israel.

Neither the Department of Justice nor Harvard University provided immediate comment when contacted regarding the dismissal.

With information from New York Post

Eleni Papadaki-Van Der Merwe

She was born in 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the granddaughter of an immigrant from Crete who settled in the Greek community of Johannesburg (one of the largest in Africa). She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg and a master’s degree in Journalism from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. She began her career at English-language media outlets in Johannesburg, covering politics and economics, with a focus on issues related to migration and the diaspora. She moved to Athens in 2015 to “return to her roots,” initially to pursue graduate studies, and has remained there permanently. She is married to an Afrikaner; they have two children and live in the southern suburbs of Athens.