CAIR staff and leaders are flanked by representatives from MAPA, JVP Boston, Arlington for Palestine, Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, and others at a January 30, 2025 press conference designating Harvard a "hostile campus". Photo: CAIR-MA
The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned Harvard University Jan. 30 for adopting as part of its antidiscrimination policies the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) highly controversial definition of antisemitism that conflates criticism of the Israeli government with religious discrimination.
In part due to this latest act, CAIR designated Harvard University as a “Hostile Campus” for targeting anti-genocide protesters and creating a hostile environment by repressing free speech and academic freedoms on campus.
Dr. Maryam Hasan, research and advocacy specialist at CAIR, pointed out that: “Harvard University admitted in a recent resolution agreement with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights that its non-discrimination policy was insufficient in fulfilling the requirement under Title Vi. Harvard agreed it allegedly failed to protect Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students from harassment, doxing, and discrimination. Yet Before the ink was even dry, Harvard adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition that, according to over 104 civil rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, suppresses free speech, silences student activism, and endangers students speaking out against occupation apartheid and genocide. The author of the IHRA definition called it a “working definition” and testified to the U.S. Congress that if governing bodies “enshrine this definition into law, outside groups will try and suppress rather than answer political speech they don’t like.” According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expressions’ 2025 Free Speech Rankings, Harvard University ranked 251st or last in free speech compared to other top American colleges.”
“Harvard University is one of the world’s leading institutions, setting standards for academic excellence and freedom. By adopting this definition and creating a hostile campus environment, Harvard sent a troubling message that free speech doesn’t matter and that Harvard no longer cares about academic freedom. In conclusion, designating Harvard as a hostile campus is a stand for the protection of free expression and the right to learn without fear and discrimination. Universities must be places of inclusion where all voices are heard and respected. This decision is about holding Harvard accountable to these principles, ensuring no one is silenced or targeted for their beliefs or identity,” Hasan concluded.
“If you want to learn about human rights, free speech, and critical thought, we suggest Harvard is not the place to go. Harvard leaders must be aware of the problematic nature of the IHRA definition, yet they went with it anyway, further dehumanizing anti-genocide and anti-apartheid voices,” said CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor.
CAIR’s report documented the different ways in which the administration at Harvard displayed apparent discrimination based on religion, race, and ethnicity by actively suppressing the free speech of Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, staff, and faculty who oppose occupation and apartheid. According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) 2025 Free Speech College Rankings, Harvard University was ranked 251st, or last, compared to other top American colleges.
“Since October 2023, CAIR-MA has advised dozens of Harvard students, faculty, and staff of all religious faiths who have been falsely accused of antisemitism for supporting Palestinian human rights. We have seen the fear and disruption that is sown when criticism of a foreign government threatens academic careers. We are both saddened and alarmed that such a prestigious university would choose to punish the free exchange of ideas,” said Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, CAIR-MA Executive Director.
Amatul-Wadud added: “Harvard’s decision to embrace the IHRA definition is intended to insulate the Israeli government from criticism. Harvard could have adopted the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. That thoughtful and non-partisan declaration was issued in 2020 by Jewish scholars who objected to how the IHRA definition was being used to punish open debate on an issue of intense international concern. But instead, Harvard has opted to align itself with a foreign power at the cost of quelling political dissent.”
“Massachusetts residents should be aware that this is not just an issue for a private institution like Harvard,” warned Barbara J. Dougan, CAIR-MA Legal Director. “It is also playing out within our state government, due to language tucked into the 2025 state budget, without any opportunity for public comment. That language created Massachusetts’ Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism, which is charged with, among other things, recommending new laws and policies that would only apply to antisemitic discrimination.
In response to the back-door manner in which the Commission was created as well as its mission to elevate antisemitism above all other forms of oppression, the Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts (TIM) coalition mobilized. TIM is comprised of religious, civil rights, educational, labor, and other groups, including CAIR-MA and MAPA. TIM unequivocally condemns antisemitism while simultaneously urging that anti-Jewish bias be seen as interrelated with other racist ideologies grounded in white supremacy. No one can be safe unless all are safe, and elevating one group’s safety at the expense of all others is the wrong way to address legitimate concerns.
by Barbara Dougan and Maryam Hasan
Read CAIR-MA background statements and additional information
Watch CAIR-MA’s January 30 news conference
Read Paul Shannon’s opinion piece, “Harvard Plans Crackdown on Palestinian Activism“, January 24, 2025.