Jewish activist Shabbos Kestenbaum settles antisemitism lawsuit with Harvard
Kestenbaum has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s campus crackdown, of which Harvard has been a primary focus
Shabbos Kestenbaum speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, July 17, 2024. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Shabbos Kestenbaum, the Harvard Divinity School graduate and high-profile critic of campus antisemitism, has settled his lawsuit against Harvard in which he alleged the school did not protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment.
Kestenbaum’s 16-month legal battle against Harvard ended with a settlement, but the exact terms are confidential. The finale to the suit comes as Harvard faces heavy scrutiny from the Trump administration over its response to pro-Palestinian protest and allegations of antisemitism on its campus.
The school currently faces nearly $3 billion in federal funding cuts from the administration and threats to its tax-exempt status. The administration also alerted the school in a letter Monday that it would be investigating if its admissions process had defrauded the government by considering the race and ethnicity of applicants. Kestenbaum is a vocal supporter of Trump’s campus crackdown.
In a statement, Kestenbaum said his lawsuit had “helped actualize those policies and I am proud to have worked with the Administration on these efforts.” He added that he would remain “active and helpful in their current investigations into the University.”
“Harvard and Mr. Kestenbaum acknowledge each other’s steadfast and important efforts to combat antisemitism at Harvard and elsewhere,” a Harvard spokesperson said in a statement, according to the student paper the Harvard Crimson.
In January, the school settled two other lawsuits with Jewish groups accusing the school of fostering an antisemitic environment in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Kestenbaum initially joined one of the lawsuits, but did not join their settlement and continued with the case before settling on his own this week.
