US

Yale, Harvard remove employees and Columbia president quits as Trump adds pressure to schools

The US government is pressurising universities to combat anti-Semitism on campus or lose federal funding

At Harvard, the student newspaper reported that the faculty leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies are being forced to leave their posts Photograph: Getty Images
At Harvard, the student newspaper reported that the faculty leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies are being forced to leave their posts Photograph: Getty Images
Sat Mar 29 2025 - 14:55

Yale and Harvard removed employees from their posts as the Trump administration pressures universities to “combat anti-Semitism” on campus or lose federal funding.

Yale’s Law School said on Friday it terminated Helyeh Doutaghi, a research scholar, who was placed on leave this month after being accused of having alleged ties to a group subject to US sanctions.

“As a result of her refusal to co-operate with this investigation, Ms Doutaghi’s employment with Yale – which was already set to expire this April – has been terminated effective immediately,” according to a statement from Yale Law spokesman Alden Ferro.

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Ms Doutaghi has said on social media that she was targeted as a “blatant act of retaliation against Palestinian solidarity” and described attacks against her as “defamatory smears amplified by fascist trolls”.

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Yale said it reviewed materials that included text on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network’s website identifying Ms Doutaghi as a member of its organisation. The Biden administration in October labelled the group a “sham charity” serving as a fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which the US considers a terrorist organisation.

“To be clear, Yale does not take administrative action based on press reports and such an action is never initiated based on a person’s protected speech,” Mr Ferro’s statement said.

At Harvard, the student newspaper reported that the faculty leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies – professor of Turkish Studies Cemal Kafadar and History professor Rosie Bsheer – are being forced to leave their posts. The centre has been criticised for programming that has been called anti-Semitic.

The Harvard Crimson said Mr Kafadar would step down from his position at the end of the year, citing a memo. The announcement came days after the Harvard School of Public Health suspended a partnership it has with Birzeit University in the West Bank.

Neither Mr Kafadar or Ms Bsheer responded to requests for comment. A spokesman for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences also did not immediately respond to messages for comment.

The federal government has threatened to withhold funding for universities after Republican politicians and President Donald Trump accused universities of fostering anti-Semitism and harbouring foreign students who have shown support for Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation. That’s caused anxiety among some universities that the government is suppressing free speech and conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.

Columbia University’s interim president Katrina Armstrong stepped down on Friday after the school agreed to ban masks, expand campus police powers and appoint a senior vice-provost to oversee the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies department in an effort to unfreeze $400 million (€368 million) in federal money. She later reportedly downplayed the changes to faculty on a zoom call, prompting conservative ire.

The board named Claire Shipman, co-chair of the trustees, as acting president, effective immediately. She’ll serve until the board finishes its search for a president, while Ms Armstrong returns to her previous roles including chief executive officer of Columbia’s Irving Medical Center. – Bloomberg