Harvard boosts security at Jewish events amid growing anti-Israel protests

Harvard University has increased security measures at Jewish events during the 2024–2025 school year, fearing acts of anti-Semitic violence that have plagued other universities.

The Harvard Crimson reported that, at a recent event hosted by a Jewish student group, dozens of law enforcement officers were present from four different security teams, including the Cambridge Police Department and the Secret Service.

Rabbi Jason B. Rubenstein, head of Harvard Hillel, wrote a statement thanking the university administration for increasing the police presence at Jewish events at the school.

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“The increased HUPD presence is highly appreciated by our students and community, especially given that over the past weekend several unrecognized Harvard-affiliated groups slandered Harvard Hillel and Chabad as accomplices to genocide and mass murder,” Rubenstein wrote.

“We hope that Harvard will build on its provision of police, by providing day-to-day protection for its Jewish students and institutions, and making clear that the safety of Harvard’s Jewish community is a priority for the University,” Rubenstein continued.

“I think something that’s very Jewish is getting used to seeing security at a lot of events,” added Danny O. Denenberg, the Israel Chair of Harvard’s Hillel’s Board. “It’s just a sad part, I think, about when you get a lot of Jewish people together, there’s always going to be tight security.”

Harvard’s decision to increase the security presence at Jewish events comes in the wake of significant demonstrations during which anti-Israel protesters have promised to continue the “student intifada.”

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“The pro-terror mob is marching through [Harvard] screaming ‘long live the intifada’ and ‘globalize the intifada,’” author Aviva Klompas posted to X on Sept. 6, the same day that an anti-Israel protest occurred at Harvard. “To be clear, they may as well be screaming ‘kill the Jews.’”

“No matter what the University says or does, our demands have always been crystal clear: Disclose and divest,” said a pro-Palestine student demonstrator.

Harvard administration has appeared to take the divestment campaign seriously, as indicated by Harvard President Alan Garber’s decision to meet with representatives of the anti-Israel student group HOOP.

“In addition to discussing technical details of Harvard’s endowment,” a HOOP member who attended the meeting with President Garber said, “we urged Harvard to reconcile the gap between its so-called commitment to human rights and where we know its money is really going: in companies complicit in suffering and death, particularly in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.