Harvard leaders subpoenaed for not meeting deadlines in antisemitism investigation

A sign hangs on a gate of a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., July 6, 2023.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce subpoenaed Harvard on Friday for failing to meet the Committee’s deadline in its investigation into antisemitism at the university.

Last week, Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) threatened Harvard with a subpoena after the university did not meet the Committee’s initial deadline for submitting an extensive list of documents and records initially requested in January. Foxx gave Harvard until Feb. 14 to produce the necessary documents before she’d issue a subpoena.

According to a release from the Committee, subpoenas are served to Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker, Interim President Dr. Alan Garber, and Harvard Management Company’s Chief Executive Officer N.P. Narvekar.

“I am extremely disappointed in the path that Harvard has chosen to take in the Committee’s investigation. Over the course of this investigation, Harvard has touted its willingness to work with the Committee, citing the thousands of pages of documents it has produced. But, of the 2,516 pages of documents Harvard has produced in response to the Committee’s antisemitism inquiry to date, at least 1,032—over 40 percent—were already publicly available. Quality—not quantity—is the Committee’s concern,” Foxx said in the release.

Manifestación anti-Israel en la Universidad de Harvard. Es hora de que la comunidad judía local y los ex alumnos judíos de Harvard mostremos nuestra fuerza (credit: Rick Friedman/Polaris – Newscom)

Manifestación anti-Israel en la Universidad de Harvard. Es hora de que la comunidad judía local y los ex alumnos judíos de Harvard mostremos nuestra fuerza (credit: Rick Friedman/Polaris – Newscom)

According to Foxx, Harvard failed to make substantial productions on two of four priority requests and its productions on the remaining two priority requests contain notable deficiencies, including “apparent omissions and questionable redactions.”

The subpoenas call on Pritzker, Garber and Narvekar to appear in front of the Committee on March 4.

Harvard’s response to the subpoena 

In a statement, Harvard said it’s unfortunate that the Committee has chosen to issue a subpoena given the breadth and extensive nature of the information Harvard has provided to the Committee.

“Harvard has provided fulsome and good faith responses across ten (10) submissions totaling more than 3,500 pages that directly address key areas of inquiry put forward by the Committee.  While a subpoena was unwarranted, Harvard remains committed to cooperating with the Committee and will continue to provide additional materials, while protecting the legitimate privacy, safety and security concerns of our community,” according to the statement.

“Antisemitism has no place in the Harvard community. We remain steadfast in our commitment to combating antisemitism, in whatever form it manifests itself and our ongoing efforts to ensure that Jewish students feel safe, valued, and embraced at Harvard.”