Amid federal pressure, Harvard rolls out new Israel collaborations in education and medical research
In a marked shift under intense scrutiny from both federal authorities and major donors, Harvard University announced two significant new initiatives on Monday to expand its academic and research ties with Israel: an undergraduate study abroad program with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and a postdoctoral fellowship for Israeli biomedical researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS).
These moves come just months after the US Department of Education formally concluded that Harvard had failed to adequately address antisemitism on campus, resulting in substantial political pressure and the freezing of federal research funds. The developments also align with terms of a January 2025 legal settlement in which Harvard committed to forming partnerships with Israeli institutions, a settlement that followed lawsuits filed by two groups accusing the university of negligence toward antisemitic incidents.
Partnership with Israel universities
Earlier this month, Harvard's Office of International Education (OIE) formally added Ben-Gurion University, located in Be'er-Sheva, Israel, to its list of approved term-time international study programs. The program will launch in spring 2026 and will offer credit-bearing options for semester, year-long, or summer study. Participating students will join classes alongside Israeli peers, with all instruction provided in English.
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The academic value of BGU's programs was a central factor in the decision. The university is internationally recognized for its strengths in climate research, desert agriculture, water sustainability, renewable energy, and biotechnology, fields where Harvard's own offerings are limited by geography and infrastructure. Through this partnership, Harvard undergraduates will gain access to unique field-based and interdisciplinary programs grounded in real-world regional challenges, especially those concerning desert ecosystems and advanced applied sciences.
The collaboration expands Harvard's growing portfolio of Israeli academic partners, which already includes Tel Aviv University, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the University of Haifa.
The research fellowship: Israeli postdocs to work at HMS
Alongside the study abroad program, Harvard Medical School announced the Kalaniyot Postdoctoral Fellowship, designed to support Israeli scientists conducting two to three years of basic biomedical research at HMS or any of its affiliated hospitals in the Boston area.
The fellowship is funded by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the Dorot Foundation, with institutional support from the Kalaniyot Foundation, which maintains a chapter at HMS. According to a report by
The Harvard Crimson
, this initiative is among the first concrete steps taken to operationalise the university's settlement commitments related to antisemitism and institutional bias.
The fellowship will specifically focus on early-career researchers in fields such as molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and regenerative medicine, areas where HMS leads in both faculty strength and infrastructure.
While precise funding details have not been fully disclosed,
The Harvard Crimson
noted that the fellowship rollout closely follows a renewed $19 million pledge by billionaire Leonard Blavatnik to Harvard Medical School earlier this month. Blavatnik had previously paused donations in late 2023 to protest Harvard's response to campus antisemitism, but has since resumed philanthropic engagement. A portion of that $19 million commitment, more than $5 million, is reportedly earmarked for junior biomedical researchers, including those potentially supported by the Kalaniyot Fellowship.
Federal sanctions and shifting university policy
The timing of the announcements is widely seen as part of Harvard's broader response to federal sanctions and donor dissatisfaction. In April 2025, the Trump administration suspended close to $3 billion in federal research funding to Harvard after the USDepartment of Education concluded that the university had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by demonstrating 'deliberate indifference' toward antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination on campus.
In a confidential memo sent to Harvard on April 3, later made public in early July, the White House Office of Civil Rights indicated its approval of Harvard's decision to end ties with Birzeit University, a Palestinian institution in the West Bank. The memo further suggested that the US government would welcome new partnerships with Israeli institutions as evidence of Harvard's willingness to reform.
By April 2025, Harvard had formally suspended its research partnership with Birzeit, citing allegations, long raised by critics, that the university had indirect links to Hamas.
This decision followed recommendations from an internal task force on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, which issued a report in late April recommending that Harvard balance any regional engagement with parallel partnerships in Israel.
Gaps and criticism remain
Despite these changes, Harvard has not made comparable commitments to expand programs in Palestinian studies, Arabic language instruction, or Islamic studies, areas where many students and faculty have called for greater investment.
The university has announced plans to increase support for the study of Hebrew, Judaic languages, and antisemitism, but critics say this rebalancing does not reflect a fully equitable approach to regional education.
In recent months, student groups and faculty associations have urged Harvard to clarify whether its suspension of the Birzeit partnership is permanent, and whether future programming will represent a balanced academic inquiry into both Israeli and Palestinian society.
Meanwhile, the university's new ties to BGU and the Kalaniyot Fellowship suggest a strategic realignment toward Israel, one that aligns with both US political demands and philanthropic expectations, but which may also generate ongoing debate on campus about academic freedom, regional equity, and institutional priorities.
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