A Harvard Jewish student, identified as Yoav Segev, has filed a federal lawsuit against Harvard University, alleging he was assaulted on campus and that the institution subsequently protected and rewarded his assailants while impeding investigations. The lawsuit, filed recently, claims the university failed to provide administrative relief following the incident. According to a social media post by Steve McGuire, Segev stated, > “Harvard did everything it could to defend, protect, and reward the assailants; to impede the criminal investigation; and to prevent [him] from obtaining administrative relief from the University.”
The alleged assault occurred during an anti-Israel "die-in" protest on Harvard's campus in October 2023. Segev, an Israeli graduate of Harvard Business School, was reportedly filming the demonstration when he was surrounded and physically accosted by protesters. Two Harvard graduate students, Ibrahim Bharmal of Harvard Law School and Elom Tettey-Tamaklo of Harvard Divinity School, were later charged with misdemeanor assault in connection with the incident in May 2024.
Segev's lawsuit asserts that Harvard's conduct breached its contractual obligations and violated civil rights statutes, fostering a hostile environment for Jewish students. The complaint alleges Harvard not only failed to protect him but actively obstructed justice by being uncooperative with prosecutors. This uncooperativeness reportedly led to delays in the criminal case against the alleged assailants, who both pleaded not guilty.
Further allegations in the lawsuit highlight that the university allowed the charged students to remain in good standing, with one, Ibrahim Bharmal, reportedly receiving a $65,000 fellowship from the Harvard Law Review. This alleged "rewarding" of assailants is a central point of the lawsuit, suggesting a pattern of institutionalized antisemitism and mistreatment. Prosecutors have indicated that Harvard police "essentially refused to investigate" the matter.
This legal action comes amid a broader landscape of rising antisemitism concerns on U.S. university campuses following the October 7, 2023, attacks. Harvard has faced multiple lawsuits regarding its handling of antisemitism, some of which have resulted in settlements where the university agreed to implement measures to combat discrimination. Harvard has stated its commitment to taking "concrete steps to address the root causes of antisemitism on campus and protect our Jewish and Israeli students."