Remember when Harvard University established an antisemitism task force ostensibly to combat the rise of anti-Jewish bigotry on campus? Shortly after this group was established, there were already signs that this was nothing more than an empty gesture.

Well, a new report shows that those doubting the university’s sincerity had good reason for those doubts. The Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) released a report revealing that Harvard’s Antisemitism Advisory Group (AAG) provided “significant recommendations” to the schools’ administration on how it might curtail the spread of anti-Jewish bigotry on campuses. However, the suggestions “were never made public or implemented,” according to a press release.

The Committee’s investigative update releases the AAG’s recommendations and presents additional findings, including that the AAG found antisemitic harassment to be a significant problem at Harvard and that a majority of the AAG threatened to resign over concerns regarding the inadequacy of Harvard’s actions. The findings outlined in the investigative update are based on documents produced to the Committee in response to its February 16 subpoena as well as the Committee’s March 18 transcribed interview with AAG Member Dr. Dara Horn.

Foxx contended that the report “proves that former President [Claudine] Gay and Harvard’s leadership propped up the university’s Antisemitism Advisory Group all for show” and characterized Harvard’s handling of the problem as “dysfunctional.”

The report noted that the AAG made several suggestions for dealing with antisemitism on Harvard’s campus. This included “zero tolerance of disruption of classes and learning environments,” “shared spaces including classroom buildings, libraries and dining halls,” and minimizing “permission for banners, marches, sit-ins, leafletting, group protests or other behavior or organized campaigns.”

The document also provided several examples of antisemitic activity on campus, including one student who was repeatedly harassed.

The student recounted how he or she and a friend had been subjected to shocking antisemitic incidents that were reported to the University, writing, 'The dangerous speech cited above is already being turned into action by Harvard affiliates. I have been followed in the streets, as has at least one other Jewish student. A kippah-wearing friend was spit on by another student.”

The authors pointed out that the AAG “raised the need for Harvard to share more information on antisemitic incidents and disciplinary outcomes” but the “Harvard administrators did not do so, citing only privacy concerns.”

Even further, the document indicates that the AAG “had limited engagement with the deans of Harvard’s various schools” and that despite being promised a meeting, it “did not ever take place.”

So, there you have it, folks. Harvard’s pledge to establish a group to combat antisemitism was about as sincere as Bill Clinton saying he never cheated on his wife.

However, the signs that Harvard was just kidding about this whole “fighting antisemitism” thing were there early on. It was apparent when they appointed Jewish history professor Derek Penslar as the co-chair of the task force despite his numerous writings indicating that he’s not all that concerned about antisemitism.

In February, a key member of the group resigned, saying that the school was not serious about dealing with the problem.

However, one of the key members of the task force has stepped down from his position, citing a lack of sincerity in solving the antisemitism problem on campus. The Harvard Crimson reported that Raffaella Sadun has resigned from the group after only being appointed in January. The development casts a shadow over the future of the task force and could highlight the fact that the university only created it for PR purposes.

Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun resigned from the presidential task force on antisemitism, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 appointed Sadun in January to lead the task force as a co-chair last month. Her decision to resign was confirmed in statements from Sadun and Garber on Sunday.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help advance the vital work to combat antisemitism and believe that President Garber has assembled an excellent task force,” Sadun wrote. “I will continue to support efforts to tackle antisemitism at Harvard in any way I can from my faculty position.”

“Professor Sadun has expressed her desire to refocus her efforts on her research, teaching and administrative responsibilities at HBS,” Garber wrote. “Her insights and passion for this work have helped shape the mandate for the task force and how it can best productively advance the important work ahead.”

While there is nothing shocking about this revelation, it does raise a question: Did Harvard truly believe that it could get away with such a nakedly insincere gesture? After all, their duplicity was bound to be exposed at one point or another. Perhaps they simply believed the issue would go away on its own. However, the continued unrest at Harvard and other schools shows that this is not going to be the case anytime soon.