Combating anti-semitism: Harvard vows to resist Prez Trump's diktat

After weeks of saying he's willing to work with the Trump administration to combat anti-semitism, Harvard University President Alan Garber emerged on Monday as the highest-profile challenger to the government's effort to force change at elite US colleges.

- Bloomberg

WASHINGTON:

The retribution was swift.

A government task force on anti-semitism said late Monday that it plans to freeze $2.2 billion of multi-year grants after Harvard's decision to reject new demands from the administration. In a statement earlier in the day, Garber had argued that the expanded requests crossed red lines regarding academic freedom and interference in higher education.

"It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address anti-semitism in a cooperative and constructive manner," Garber wrote on Harvard's website. "Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating anti-semitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard."

Harvard's rebuke — backed by two law firms in a letter to US agencies — won plaudits from Democratic lawmakers, including former president Barack Obama, alumni and academics who have been eager to see resistance to President Donald Trump's use of threats and executive orders to reshape institutions.