In a blistering lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Harvard University is being accused of shielding antisemitic attackers, obstructing justice, and retaliating against a Jewish student who says he was violently assaulted on campus following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel.

Yoav Segev, a student at Harvard, alleges in the suit that after he was physically attacked during an anti-Israel protest on campus, the university not only failed to protect him but actively worked to silence and punish him — while rewarding those responsible for the assault.

“Harvard did everything it could to defend, protect and reward the assailants; to impede the criminal investigation; and to prevent Mr. Segev from obtaining administrative relief from the university,” the complaint states.

According to the lawsuit, Segev was filming an anti-Israel “die-in” protest on Harvard’s campus in October 2023 when he was confronted by demonstrators wearing keffiyehs. After asserting his right to remain and record in a public space, Segev says he was physically surrounded and violently grabbed by the protesters — two of whom were university student-employees.

Rather than protect the victim or enforce campus safety policies, the university is accused of stonewalling accountability. When Segev filed a formal complaint, Harvard allegedly refused to discipline the attackers on the grounds that he wished to remain unnamed — despite the school having independent evidence and a duty to investigate. A university inquiry conducted in January 2024 was, according to Segev, a “sham” that yielded no results and offered no transparency.

The complaint goes further, alleging that Harvard retaliated against Segev by effectively unmasking him. Despite his attempts to remain anonymous in other legal actions against the university, Harvard allegedly released information that made his identity easily traceable. The Harvard Crimson later published an article naming Segev as a plaintiff.

Adding insult to injury, the university allegedly went on to reward two of the student-employees involved in the October incident. One was awarded a paid fellowship with the prestigious Harvard Law Review, and the other graduated as class marshal of Harvard Divinity School.

“After Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitism exploded on Harvard’s campus,” said Mark Pinkert, a partner at Holtzman Vogel and legal counsel for Segev. “Yoav Segev was violently assaulted simply because he is Jewish. Harvard not only failed to protect him — it empowered his attackers.”

“This type of treatment would be unimaginable for other minorities at Harvard, except Jews,” Pinkert told JNS.

The lawsuit paints a stark portrait of what Segev describes as a hostile and discriminatory campus environment. It claims Harvard’s failure to act — and its alleged retaliation — has had lasting effects on his “health, mental wellbeing and sense of security.”

In response, Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said the university “remains committed to combating antisemitism and enforcing our anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies at all times,” and that it would “defend the university against these claims.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)