Staff Reports
The ongoing crisis at Harvard University has become a glaring example of the dangerous drift in American higher education—a drift that threatens not only free speech but also the safety and dignity of Jewish and conservative students. Harvard Law’s Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz, a lifelong liberal and staunch defender of civil liberties, has sounded the alarm: the atmosphere on campus is increasingly hostile, with anti-Semitic rhetoric and intimidation going unchecked, while conservative voices are routinely marginalized or silenced.
Dershowitz’s warnings are not mere speculation. Recent events have shown that Harvard’s leadership is more interested in protecting its progressive image and defending “academic freedom” than in taking meaningful action to protect students from hate and harassment. While the university touts its opposition to anti-Semitism, it has refused to implement substantive reforms, even as the Trump administration threatened to withhold billions in federal funding unless Harvard addressed the surge in campus hostility and enforced real disciplinary measures. Instead, Harvard has chosen to dig in, risking its $9 billion in grants rather than confront the radicalism festering within its walls.
This defiance has been cheered on by left-wing politicians and former President Obama, who praised Harvard for resisting what he called “unlawful” demands from the federal government. But let’s be honest: this is the same Obama who once used federal power to enforce civil rights protections for other groups. Now, when Jewish students face threats and intimidation, he and the academic elite suddenly discover a newfound respect for university “independence.” The hypocrisy is staggering, and it exposes the selective outrage that pervades elite institutions.
The numbers speak for themselves. Surveys show that over 80 percent of Harvard faculty identify as liberal, with only a tiny fraction willing to support greater ideological diversity. Conservative students, meanwhile, report feeling isolated and even afraid to speak their minds. Jewish students are left to fend for themselves as pro-Palestinian activists disrupt campus life and administrators equivocate rather than enforce clear standards of conduct. Dershowitz is right to draw parallels to the Civil Rights era: when universities fail to protect their students, federal intervention may be the only remedy.
Harvard’s enormous endowment and influence make its choices especially consequential. By refusing to apply the same standards to anti-Semitism and conservative speech that it does to other forms of discrimination, Harvard is eroding the very principles of intellectual diversity and free inquiry it claims to champion. If America’s top universities cannot guarantee safety and fairness for all students, regardless of faith or political belief, then it’s time for Congress and the courts to step in. The future of higher education, and the values that underpin our republic, depend on it.
