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Boston Globe

‘Show us it's not just words': 5 takeaways from Harvard's reports on antisemitism and Islamophobia

Both reports also task Harvard with taking action. Among the recommendations: expanding academic offerings on antisemitism, Jewish history and culture, as well as course offerings on Palestinian Studies and Arabic language and cultures; and providing training and resources, including legal support, to fight doxxing. The two reports — titled the " Here are five takeaways from the reports. Advertisement 1. Commonalities between the two reports Both groups found the administration failed to protect students. Both spoke of living amid a climate of fear on campus and online. Both felt targeted for their identities, with some going so far as to conceal physical markers. 'I don't wear the keffiyeh because I feel like I will be targeted,' said one staff member. 'I already wear a hijab and have faced verbal abuse just because of that before.' Advertisement In the antisemitism report, an undergraduate student reflected on the 'horrible' experiences post-Oct. 7 of friends who are 'more outwardly' Jewish and Israeli, saying, 'I feel lucky I don't look Jewish. I know if I do the 'wrong thing' I might get the antisemitism. So, put your headphones in, make sure you're not outwardly Jewish, and just walk to class.' Both groups cited a need for more educational offerings and inquiries around Israel-Palestine. 2. Campus shunning and external harassment Many Jewish and Israeli students described social shunning by their peers on campus, whereas the anti-Muslim/Arab/Palestinian bias report highlighted examples of outside harassment, especially doxxing. 'There's a good-Jew, bad-Jew dynamic,' particularly in progressive circles, one student told the antisemitism task force. 'A Jew who doesn't renounce Zionism and who is gay can't feel comfortable in a gay students' association,' noted an undergraduate. Others expressed concerns about the 'perceived indifference' toward Jewish students by Harvard's Office For Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. 'Jews are the only minority [against whom] people speak [but] enjoy maximalist First Amendment protections,' said one graduate student. 'Every other minority group is defended by the administration against hate speech. There's absolute freedom for antisemitic speech. I agree with the Supreme Court case about the neo-Nazi march in Skokie. It's right for the country but not for Harvard.' Participants in the anti-Muslim/Arab/Palestinian bias report recounted external threats and harassment. 'One student had their face put on a doxxing truck and their phone number and other details doxxed online. They received calls with death and rape threats,' reported a faculty member, who noted the incident was not isolated. Advertisement Pro-Palestinian advocates spoke of turning to each other when they should have had access to trained experts and institutional support. 'I felt like a student hotline, tasked with supporting my fellow students,' said one student. 'Where were the administrators? Where was our support system? I am 20 years old.' A faculty member described 'a profound failure of this institution to protect students at all levels.' Related : 3. The anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias report includes a range of allies . . . And not just those whose identities match the title. As a result, the report surfaces accounts of everyday racism against people of color more generally, along with a broader sense of anger and alienation. 'I hate this place. I hate being here,' said one student. 'The reason for that has been the administration — a complete erasure of Palestinian, brown students.' A major theme in this report is the erasure of the Palestinians, down to their name as a people. Some faculty 'hide their syllabi with references to Palestine because they're worried about not getting tenure,' reported one student, while a faculty member said, 'The Palestine exception is clear to us.' Some pro-Palestinian campus community members were so skeptical of the Harvard administration they felt the very creation of the task force — which originally focused explicitly on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias and didn't reflect Palestinians in its name — was nothing more than a performative gesture, a check in the box 'so Harvard can say it's doing something,' as one student said, urging the task force to 'prove us wrong. 'Show us it's not just words.' Related : 4. Many students and faculty were still hesitant to voice their views on campus An untenured Jewish faculty member spoke of being 'afraid' to publicly express support for a ceasefire and Palestinian human rights, while the antisemitism report noted that 'many Jewish students who identified as anti-Zionist reported to us that they felt the main source of hostile behavior against them was other Jewish students.' Advertisement 'I feel uncomfortable sharing any views that are not pro-Israel due to the caving to donors that [Harvard has] done over the past year,' wrote a survey respondent. 'I do not think [former] President [Claudine] Gay should have been forced out and if that happened to the most powerful position how can anyone else feel comfortable knowing their job could be on the line?' While one student pointed to Gay as a specific example of the 'avoidance of difficult conversations,' another in the antisemitism report drew attention to a larger problem. 'One of my suitemates knew nothing about the Israel/Palestine conflict and the student tried to talk about it without going too deep, because they didn't feel comfortable talking about it with non-Jews,' they said. 'There's a fear of having conversations about anything related to Israel/Palestine because people don't know enough to participate and don't want to say the wrong thing. But they can listen.' 5. Others fear potential repercussions beyond 'Abandoned and silenced. These two words go a long way towards capturing what many Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and pro-Palestinian members of the Harvard community reported experiencing in the 2023-24 academic year, and what many continue to feel,' the authors of that report wrote. They note that 92% of Muslim respondents believed they were likely to encounter academic or professional consequences for voicing their opinions, and that 'freedom of expression is one of the most critical issues facing the entire Harvard campus community.' Brooke Hauser can be reached at