More than 100 Jewish students at Harvard denounce the Trump administration’s threat to cut federal funding, arguing such measures misuse concerns about antisemitism and would damage the university community.
More than 100 Jewish students at Harvard University have signed an open letter opposing recent efforts by the Trump administration to reevaluate federal funding to the institution—estimated at approximately $9 billion—over concerns tied to campus antisemitism, The Harvard Crimson reported.
The student-authored letter, which began circulating last week, strongly criticizes what it describes as a politically motivated attempt to leverage Jewish safety as justification for financial penalties against academic institutions.
“We are compelled to speak out because these actions are being taken in the name of protecting us — Harvard Jewish students — from antisemitism,” the letter reads. “But this crackdown will not protect us. On the contrary, we know that funding cuts will harm the campus community we are part of and care about deeply.”
The document was composed prior to the federal government’s announcement on Monday that it would freeze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard. That move came after University President Alan M. Garber stated that Harvard would not comply with the administration’s directives.
Maia Hoffenberg, one of the students involved in drafting the letter, said the initiative emerged from informal discussions among Jewish students who were troubled by the administration’s framing of its actions.
“We were surprised by how many people we talked to who actually seemed to share in our views that these threatened cuts were not going to be a benefit to Jewish students at the University,” Hoffenberg told The Harvard Crimson. “We thought that it could be really powerful to have a group of Harvard Jews standing together and speaking out against these cuts.”
According to Hoffenberg, the letter garnered signatures from 78 undergraduate students, many of whom are active in Jewish campus life. She noted that Harvard Hillel’s student chat group includes 156 members, underscoring the letter’s broad reach within that community.
Students from across the political and denominational spectrum joined the effort, Hoffenberg added, emphasizing the diversity of the signatories. Trump on Thursday continued his criticism of Harvard, saying the university is abusing its tax-exempt status and describing it as “antisemitic” over its handling of anti-Israel protests on campus.
“I think Harvard is a disgrace. They’re obviously antisemitic, and all of a sudden they’re starting to behave,” Trump told reporters.
“But when you see what they were saying, what they were doing, when you see the way they took care of events, when you watch that woman, that horrendous president that ruined the image of Harvard, maybe permanently, in Congress…when you take a look at what happened there, it was horrific.”
Noting that the issue of Harvard’s tax-exempt status is being handled by lawyers, Trump continued, “Tax-exempt status, I mean, it’s a privilege. It’s really a privilege, and it’s been abused by a lot more than Harvard, too. So we’ll see how that all works out.”
“I don’t think they’ve made a final ruling. I don’t believe they’ve made a final ruling, but it’s something that these schools really have to be very, very careful with,” stated the President. His comments came a day after two individuals familiar with deliberations at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Harvard University may soon face the loss of its tax-exempt status.
Sources said a final determination by the IRS is expected shortly, as tensions between the university and the administration escalate over Harvard’s refusal to amend its hiring and governance practices in line with federal demands.
Harvard, like other universities in the US, has seen an uptick in anti-Israel activity since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the war in Gaza which followed. The university has come under fire over its handling of antisemitism on campus.
Just two days after the October 7 massacre, a coalition of 34 Harvard student organizations released a statement in which they blamed Israel for Hamas’ attack. Later, then-Harvard President Claudine Gay came under fire after she, along with MIT President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, testified before a congressional hearing on the issue of antisemitism on college campuses.
All three university presidents gave similar answers to Rep. Elise Stefanik in which they failed to unequivocally condemn antisemitism or even calls for genocide against Jews. Gay eventually resigned as President of Harvard.
