After backlash, Hillel plans to retract amicus brief defending Harvard in federal suit to strip Ivy's funding over Jew-hatred

Hillel International plans to withdraw an amicus brief filed in support of Harvard University, following public backlash. The brief, submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, aimed to defend Harvard against the Trump administration's appeal to strip $2.7 billion in federal funding over alleged failures to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. Hillel had argued that funding cuts would not address antisemitism and that Harvard had taken recent measures. A Hillel spokesman stated the brief had not completed its "internal review process." Former Harvard student Shabbos Kestenbaum, who accused the university of antisemitism, expressed shock at Hillel's initial brief and called for donor action, later confirming the retraction. Kestenbaum stated, "Public pressure works."