ديجيتال فابلت

الوسم: anti-Semitism

  • Judge Blocks Trump’s $2B Harvard Funding Cuts

    Judge Blocks Trump’s $2B Harvard Funding Cuts

    A U.S. judge has invalidated President Donald Trump’s attempt to cut over $2 billion in funding to Harvard University, dismissing it as a political maneuver disguised as a stance against anti-Semitism and bias within the Ivy League school.

    Harvard filed a lawsuit in April to recover the funds that had been frozen. The government justified the cuts, claiming Harvard hadn’t adequately safeguarded Jewish and Israeli students, especially during protests related to Israel’s conflict in Gaza.

    The reduction in funding led Harvard to halt hiring and put major research projects, particularly in public health and medicine, on hold — setbacks experts warn could threaten lives across the U.S.

    Judge Allison Burroughs of the Boston federal court stated that the funding freezes and termination notices violated the First Amendment, ruling to overturn them. She declared, “The Court vacates and sets aside the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters as violative of the First Amendment,” and confirmed that all such actions taken since April 14, 2025, are invalid.

    While Harvard’s own court documents acknowledged a presence of anti-Semitism on campus, the judge pointed out that the administration’s funding cuts were largely unrelated to the problem.

    “Harvard has admitted that anti-Semitism has been a concern recently and could have handled it better,” Burroughs wrote. “However, the evidence shows little connection between the research disruptions caused by the grants and the anti-Semitism issue.”

    She further accused the Trump administration of using anti-Semitism as a distraction or pretext for a targeted, ideological attack on elite universities, suggesting the funding actions were part of a broader effort to undermine higher education institutions.

    Both Harvard and the American Association of University Professors challenged the administration’s measures in court, and their cases were consolidated. Trump, aiming to move the case to the Court of Federal Claims, is seeking to change the jurisdiction from the Boston federal court near Harvard’s Cambridge campus.

    The ongoing political conflict reflects Trump’s broader criticisms of top-tier universities, which he claims lack transparency and are dominated by liberal perspectives and anti-conservative biases. Harvard faces scrutiny not only over ideological issues but also over its ability to host international students, who contributed 27% of its enrollment during the 2024-2025 academic year and are considered a significant revenue source.

  • Canada Sends Pakistani Citizen to US for Terror Plot Charges

    Canada Sends Pakistani Citizen to US for Terror Plot Charges

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  • Court Denies Trump’s Attempt to Exclude Harvard’s International Students

    Court Denies Trump’s Attempt to Exclude Harvard’s International Students

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    Graduates celebrate during Harvard University’s 374th Commencement ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2025. — Reuters

    CAMBRIDGE: A U.S. court has halted President Donald Trump’s efforts to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students.

    The presiding judge stated that foreign students must be safeguarded while the legal dispute unfolds. This decision comes as Trump intensifies his criticism of elite universities over allegations of political bias.

    Thousands of students donned their crimson-trimmed gowns to celebrate their graduation on Thursday.

    Trump has focused his campaign against prestigious universities primarily on Harvard, threatening to withhold funding due to what he describes as liberal bias and anti-Semitic sentiments.

    Judge Allison Burroughs indicated that she would soon issue a preliminary injunction to offer “some protection” to international students while both parties contest the legality of Trump’s actions.

    “Our students are frightened, and we’re already witnessing transfers to other institutions,” remarked Harvard’s attorney, Ian Gershengorn, during the Boston hearing.

    In a last-minute submission before the hearing, the Trump administration formally expressed its intent to revoke Harvard’s authorization to enroll foreign students, initiating the official process.

    This notification granted Harvard a 30-day period to provide justification for why it shouldn’t be barred from admitting international students, who currently represent 27% of the university’s total enrollment.

    Burroughs had earlier put a temporary stop to the policy and extended that suspension on Thursday while awaiting the new injunction. She expressed her intention to assess whether the actions of Trump’s officials were motivated by retaliation.

    A law professor, present in the crowded courtroom, asserted that the Trump administration was exacerbating the distress experienced by students.

    “Harvard is stuck in limbo. What options does an international student have?” questioned the Harvard Law School alumni, who chose to remain anonymous.

    ‘Pride and Acknowledgment’

    Burroughs also noted that there existed “the looming possibility of further actions” from the government that could hinder Harvard from accommodating international students.

    The Ivy League institution has persistently been a target of Trump’s scrutiny, as it publicly rebuffed his administration’s consistent demands regarding recruitment, curricula, and research priorities.

    “Harvard is treating our country with immense disrespect, and their situation is only getting worse,” Trump stated on Wednesday.

    Harvard’s President, Alan Garber, received enthusiastic applause when he acknowledged the presence of international students at the graduation ceremony with their families, declaring it to be “the way it should be.” He refrained from directly addressing the ongoing dispute with Trump.

    Garber’s comments were met with a standing ovation, which one student described to AFP as a reflection of the community’s pride and approval.

    In leading the legal resistance within U.S. academia, Garber has spoken out against Trump’s actions, which have also targeted several other prestigious institutions, including Columbia, which made significant concessions to recover $400 million in lost federal funding.

    Garber has acknowledged that Harvard faces challenges related to anti-Semitism and the need to cultivate an environment where diverse viewpoints can be freely expressed.

    Graduating student Uzma Farheen from India, who earned a Master of Public Health, stated that the occasion represented “a celebration of the global community.”

    “We stand united in embodying what Harvard represents—truth, integrity, and inclusivity,” she expressed to AFP.

    Before the ceremony—during which legendary actress Rita Moreno was awarded an honorary degree—members of the Harvard band, clad in crimson blazers, paraded through the narrow streets of Cambridge.

    Hundreds of students convened in front of a large stage to listen to speeches—including one delivered entirely in Latin—on a grassy area that was closed off to the public for security reasons.

    Many attendees from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government waved inflatable globes to symbolize the school’s international character.

    “The past two months have been incredibly challenging. I felt very exposed,” shared 36-year-old Lorena Mejia, a Colombian graduate with a Master in Public Administration, proudly wearing robes that indicated her nationality.

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  • Trump Shuts Down Harvard’s International Student Program

    Trump Shuts Down Harvard’s International Student Program

    Harvard University Faces Significant Policy Shift on Foreign Students

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, December 12, 2023. — Reuters

    • Over 27% of Harvard’s student population consists of international students.
    • The announcement was made by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    • The university declined to follow federal rules regarding admissions.

    NEW YORK: In a surprising turn of events, the administration of President Donald Trump has prohibited Harvard University from accepting international students.

    This decision affects a significant portion of the student body and represents a serious confrontation between Trump’s administration and one of the nation’s most prestigious universities.

    Trump has accused Harvard of failing to adhere to federal guidelines, citing an on-campus atmosphere he believes is unsafe for Jewish students and advantageous to radical ideologies.

    The President expressed his frustration towards Harvard—an institution that has produced 162 Nobel Prize laureates—after it disregarded his request for oversight on its admissions and hiring practices, which he claims operate under anti-Semitic and excessively liberal ideologies.

    “Effective immediately, Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is revoked,” wrote Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a letter to the Ivy League university. This program is crucial for allowing foreign students to study in the U.S.

    Last month, Trump had warned that Harvard would lose its ability to enroll international students if it did not comply with government stipulations that would place the university under external political scrutiny.

    “It is a privilege to enroll foreign students,” Noem reminded Harvard in her letter. “All institutions must adhere to Department of Homeland Security requirements, including reporting obligations related to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, to maintain this privilege.”

    Due to Harvard’s refusal to comply with repeated requests for information, alongside claims of fostering an unsafe and hostile environment for Jewish students, as well as promoting pro-Hamas sentiments and adopting biased ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies, the university has forfeited this privilege.

    According to university statistics, over 27% of Harvard’s enrollment consisted of international students for the 2024-25 academic year. Harvard has yet to respond to inquiries for comment.