Harvard antisemitism suit dismissed by US court

A US federal court dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard University on Thursday after finding the government had not sufficiently shown that Harvard violated a Civil Rights Act anti-discrimination provision during pro-Palestinian campus rallies.

District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston granted Harvard's request to dismiss the case. He said the incidents cited by the government were too isolated and episodic to prove noncompliance with the law.

The Justice Department complaint, filed in March, accused Harvard faculty and leadership of turning a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis. It said Harvard allowed anti-Israeli demonstrators to occupy libraries and allowed an anti-Israeli encampment to remain for 20 days in violation of university policy.

The ruling is a setback for President Donald Trump's campaign against major American universities, which he has accused of giving free rein to pro-Palestinian movements during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The administration has separately moved to freeze billions of dollars in funding for Harvard for allegedly tolerating antisemitism and harboring liberal bias. Last September, a federal judge ruled that move largely unlawful and ordered the funds restored.