On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Harvard History Professor Maya Jasanoff responded to a question on whether Harvard should turn over its reports on antisemitism since October 2023 by saying that antisemitism is a real issue but “we should not mistake this very real concern for what’s going on by the government. It is using this as a pretext for a much larger, deeper assault” on higher education.
Host Jake Tapper asked, “In addition to all the funding cut threats, the Trump administration is also demanding that Harvard turn over all reports generated by the school task forces on combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias, any of them generated since October 2023. Do you think the university should turn those over?”
Jasanoff responded, “I think we need to step back from all of this a little bit and just see what’s going on here. Antisemitism is unacceptable, wherever it takes place. I, myself, am partly of Jewish origin. I know that this is a problem that has been rising lately. It needs to be stopped. And Harvard has been taking steps to do that. But we should not mistake this very real concern for what’s going on by the government. It is using this as a pretext for a much larger, deeper assault on, not just Harvard, but on higher education across this country, the very thing that helped make the 20th century the American century and hopes — can help lead us into the 21st century. The government is taking a sledgehammer to it and using antisemitism as an excuse.”
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