JTA — In the span of a few hours, Hillel International filed, then withdrew, an amicus brief supporting Harvard University in its ongoing legal battle with the Trump administration over campus antisemitism enforcement procedures.

A representative for the Hillel parent organization told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the original 22-page brief filed on Wednesday “was filed without having gone through our internal review process.” They did not elaborate further.

The whiplash further complicated institutional Jewish efforts to address campus antisemitism while sounding an alarm about some of the government’s aggressive enforcement mechanisms.

In its since-withdrawn brief, Hillel had argued that Harvard has improved in its response to antisemitism, also asserting that the Trump administration’s moves to defund the school “do not help Jewish students or improve the campus climate.”

“To the contrary, they disproportionately impact the very Jewish students and Jewish researchers the government purportedly seeks to help,” the brief continued. It followed Harvard’s own brief in the case, which revolves around federal efforts to cite antisemitism as a reason to freeze more than $2 billion in US Health and Human Services contracts and grants.

Jewish legacy groups have sought to straddle their demands for a crackdown on campus antisemitism with concerns that the Trump administration’s threats of massive cuts could harm research and students.

The brief had been signed by........

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