A federal judge in Boston on Thursday dismissed an antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard University, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to force the university to make a deal with government.

The lawsuit was part of a broader pressure campaign to force the university to comply with a range of government demands, including how it handles antisemitism but also race in admissions and other issues.

Judge Richard G. Stearns of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts granted Harvard’s motion to throw out the case, saying that the antisemitic incidents cited in the administration’s March lawsuit were “too isolated and episodic” to show that Harvard is out of compliance with the law.

In its lawsuit, filed in the spring in Federal District Court in Boston, the Trump administration had accused the university of turning “a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Jews and Israelis.” The administration said that Harvard had allowed anti-Israel protesters to violate school rules “with impunity” after the war in Gaza began in 2023.

The administration accused Harvard of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination in programs that receive federal money.

Judge Dismisses Trump Administration’s Antisemitism Case Against Harvard