House committee gives Harvard 'final warning' to hand over anti-Semitism docs by Valentine's Day or face subpoena
Rep. Dr. Virginia Foxx is threatening Harvard with a subpoena if it doesn't provide documents regarding anti-Semitism that were previously requested.
The Chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee threatened Harvard University with a subpoena if it fails to provide requested documentation in a probe into anti-Semitism on campus.
Rep. Dr. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., initially sent Harvard a letter on Jan. 9, giving the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution a two-week deadline to produce documents regarding anti-Semitism on its campus.
A spokesperson for Foxx previously told CNN that Harvard sent the committee 24 documents which totaled over 1,000 pages, but claimed all of which were publicly available.
The requested information from the committee included several items that aren’t available to the public, such as documentation of “All reports of antisemitic acts or incidents.”
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At the time, Foxx called Harvard’s response “woefully inadequate.”
Foxx on Wednesday sent Harvard a letter that gives the university a deadline of 5:00 p.m. on February 14, or a subpoena will be issued.
“The Committee has sought to obtain information regarding Harvard’s response to the numerous incidents of antisemitism on its campus and steps taken to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff. Harvard’s responses have been grossly insufficient, and the limited and dilatory nature of its productions is obstructing the Committee’s efforts. … If Harvard continues to fail to comply with the Committee’s requests in a timely manner, the Committee will proceed with compulsory process,” Foxx wrote.
Initially, Foxx requested the following documents from Harvard:
- ”All reports of antisemitic acts or incidents and related documents and communications since January 1, 2021, as well as all documents and communications related to specified incidents, including the harassment and assault of a Jewish MBA student on October 18, 2023;
- All documents and communications since January 1, 2021, referring and relating to antisemitism, involving the Harvard Corporation and Harvard Board of Overseers (including all fellows and members), as well as minutes of Harvard Corporation and Board of Overseers meetings;
- Documents sufficient to show the findings and results of any disciplinary processes, changes in academic status, or personnel actions by Harvard towards Harvard students, employees, and other Harvard affiliates related to conduct involving the targeting of Jews, Israelis, Israel, Zionists, or Zionism since January 1, 2021; and
- Documents sufficient to show any efforts by Harvard students, faculty, and staff to engage in the BDS movement against Israel since January 1, 2021, and communications by Harvard administrators relating to such efforts.”
Foxx wrote in the Wednesday letter that the university isn’t being transparent.
“Harvard also failed to produce any of the meeting minutes and/or summaries from the Harvard Board of Overseers and Harvard Management Company, claiming that ‘after a reasonable search and review to date, Harvard has not identified meeting minutes in connection with Request 10 or 11 in your letter that relate or refer to antisemitism or the war in Israel or Gaza, for either the Board of Overseers or the Management Company since October 7, 2023,’” wrote Foxx. “Given the publicly documented antisemitism on Harvard’s campus, especially since the October 7 attacks, it would be shocking if the Board of Overseers and Harvard Management Company thought protecting Harvard’s Jewish students was so insignificant that the topic was not worthy of discussion at a single meeting.”
Campus Reform reached out to Harvard for comment.
