Austrian business school ends Harvard partnership over antisemitism concerns

An Austrian business school has terminated its nearly decade-long partnership with Harvard University over the Ivy League institution’s handling of antisemitism on campus, declaring in a public statement it stands “in solidarity with the Jewish student community.”

Lauder Business School in Vienna announced on Facebook earlier this month that it has withdrawn from Harvard’s Microeconomics of Competitiveness Network, expressing “solidarity with the Jewish student community at Harvard University in light of recent events.” 

The Austrian institution joined the Harvard Business School’s network in 2014, but said in its statement that it is “now forming new partnerships that are more closely aligned with our core values and standards.”

A spokesperson for Harvard Business School declined to comment on the situation when reached by FOX Business on Wednesday.

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Lauder’s move, first reported Tuesday by The Jerusalem Post, was announced the week after Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay’s testimony during a Dec. 5 House hearing on antisemitism, where she and the leaders of the University of Pennsylvania and MIT all refused to say that calling for the genocide of Jews on their respective campuses breached their rules and amounted to harassment.

Several U.S. universities have come under fire since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 and the subsequent onset of the Israel-Hamas war, for inadequately addressing antisemitic protests that have taken place on their campuses 

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Harvard has faced severe criticism since 34 student organizations signed a statement issued by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups that began by blaming the “Israeli regime” for “all unfolding violence” in the hours after the unprecedented attack.

The response by Harvard’s leadership sparked backlash from the elite university’s base of alumni and donors, which intensified after Gay’s testimony. Billionaire Harvard alum Bill Ackman, who has been outspoken in calling for Gay’s ouster, said the president’s handling of antisemitism has cost the school more than $1 billion in donations.

Despite calls for Gay’s resignation over the antisemitism controversy and allegations that she committed plagiarism in several instances, the board of the Harvard Corporation gave the president a vote of confidence, and she has received the support of several hundred Harvard faculty members.

FOX Business’ Michael Dorgan and Eric Revell contributed to this report.