Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit alleging Harvard failed to protect Jewish students

The judge called alleged incidents of antisemitism “too isolated and episodic” to support a claim of ongoing civil rights violations.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday by the Trump administration ‌that alleged that Harvard University failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston said in his ruling that the administration’s lawsuit, which was filed in March, had not plausibly shown an ongoing violation of ​federal civil rights law on Harvard’s campus.

Stearns said the government’s allegations focused largely on incidents ​amid protests over Israel’s war in Gaza during the 2023-24 school year, with only ⁠a handful of later incidents alleged in March 2025 that were “too isolated and episodic” to support a ​claim of ongoing civil rights violations.

The judge said the lawsuit did not adequately allege failures by the ​Ivy League school after the government told Harvard in June 2025 that it was not complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs that receive ​federal funding.

The White House and Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.