BOSTON (VINnews)-A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by the Trump administration alleging that Harvard University failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment and antisemitism on campus.

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U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns ruled that the Justice Department’s complaint, filed in March, did not plausibly allege an ongoing violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs that receive federal funding.

Stearns wrote that the government’s allegations focused largely on incidents during pro-Palestinian protests over Israel’s war in Gaza in the 2023-24 school year. He said only a handful of later incidents alleged to have occurred in March 2025 were “too isolated and episodic to support a plausible inference that any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day.”

The judge also found that the lawsuit failed to adequately allege continued failures by Harvard after the government notified the university in June 2025 that it was violating Title VI.

The administration had argued that Harvard faculty and leadership “turned a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis.” It sought to recover billions of dollars in federal funds awarded to the university.

Harvard has denied the claims. In earlier statements, the university said it condemns antisemitism and is committed to ensuring Jewish and Israeli students can fully participate in campus life free from harassment. It described the lawsuit as a retaliatory action related to broader disputes with the administration over federal funding and institutional autonomy.

Neither the White House nor Harvard immediately commented on the ruling. The Justice Department can appeal the decision.

The case is part of an ongoing clash between the Trump administration and Harvard that has included fights over research funding freezes and other federal actions targeting the Ivy League school.