BREAKING: The Lawfare Project and Willkie Farr & Gallagher file lawsuit against MGH Institute of Health Professions
The Lawfare Project, together with co-counsel Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of a Jewish Israeli student at the MGH Institute of Health Professions (IHP) Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. The lawsuit alleges a sustained campaign of antisemitic hostility, discrimination, and retaliation within the school's top-ranked Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which escalated into a concerted effort to impede the student's academic progress and withhold his rightfully earned doctorate degree.
The student (identified as "J.D.") alleges that he first experienced antisemitism at IHP in 2019. Just five months after beginning his studies, a professor displayed hostility towards him upon learning of his Jewish and Israeli background. Shortly thereafter, the professor gave J.D. an unjustifiably poor exam grade, which J.D. successfully appealed. When he reported the antisemitic behavior and requested to be graded by a different instructor due to legitimate concerns of bias, J.D. faced further mistreatment.
"The alleged antisemitic hostilities and multi-year course of conduct to obstruct our client's academic pursuits by IHP, in spite of his dedication to pursuing his degree and his demonstrated aptitude, is deplorable," said Benjamin Ryberg, attorney and Chief Operating Officer of The Lawfare Project. "Institutions nationwide have turned their backs to the well-being and safety of their Jewish students, and we will do everything we can to ensure that our client achieves justice.”
According to the complaint, faculty members and an administrator allegedly subjected J.D. to inappropriate and offensive questioning regarding his ability to treat Palestinian patients and his views on gender equality, solely based on his Jewish Israeli identity. Over the following years, J.D. endured ongoing discrimination and retaliation, including repeated lower grades than warranted, fabricated allegations of failing to meet program standards, unique program requirements not imposed on other students, and denial of access to opportunities and resources available to his peers.
To this day, despite J.D.'s continued efforts to address these injustices, IHP has steadfastly refused to confer his well-deserved degree. Beyond the emotional toll inflicted by IHP's actions, J.D. has suffered significant financial consequences due to delays in graduation, extending nearly two years.
"During my time as a student at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, I was subjected to repeated instances of discrimination and prejudice based on my Jewish and Israeli identity," said J.D. "These experiences not only undermined my sense of belonging within the academic community but also had a profound impact on my emotional well-being.”