Trump threatens $9b in Harvard funding over 'anti-Semitism'

The US government will review $9 billion of funding for Harvard University over alleged anti-Semitism on campus, authorities said Monday, after it cut millions from Columbia University, which has also seen fierce pro-Palestinian student protests.

President Donald Trump has aggressively targeted prestigious universities that saw bitter protests sparked by Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, stripping their federal funds and directing immigration officers to deport foreign student demonstrators, including those with green cards.

Officials would look at $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard and the government, as well as $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to the prestigious Ivy League institution, the General Services Administration said in a statement.

Critics argue that the Trump administration's campaign is retributive and will have a chilling effect on free speech, while its supporters insist it is necessary to restore order to campuses and to protect Jewish students.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said "Harvard's failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination -- all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry -- has put its reputation in serious jeopardy."

"Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus," she added.

In a statement, Harvard president Alan Garner said: "If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation."

"The government has informed us that they are considering this action because they are concerned that the University has not fulfilled its obligations to curb and combat antisemitic harassment."

Garner objected to this characterization, saying the university "strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them" over the past 15 months as a means of addressing anti-Semitism on campus.

Trump has also targeted New York's Columbia University, initially putting $400 million of funding under review, detaining for deportation a graduate student linked to the protests, and seeking to arrest others.

Columbia then announced a package of concessions to the government around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and oversight for specific academic departments.

They stopped short, however, of meeting some of the more strident demands of the Trump administration, which nonetheless welcomed the Ivy League college's proposals.

"Today's actions by the Task Force follow a similar ongoing review of Columbia University," said Monday's official statement.

"That review led to Columbia agreeing to comply with nine preconditions for further negotiations regarding a return of cancelled federal funds."