A Harvard professor specializing in Yiddish literature has accused the university president of improper interference in the decision to deny him tenure, igniting an academic controversy that has drawn widespread criticism.
Prof. Saul Noam Zaritt, 42, the sole Yiddish scholar in Harvard’s Comparative Literature Department, alleges that President Alan Garber overruled the unanimous recommendation of the department’s academic committee to grant him tenure.
Zaritt, an internationally recognized expert and Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumnus, claims the decision undermines the university’s commitment to academic independence.
Colleagues of Zaritt, known for his groundbreaking research on modern Yiddish literature, including studies of Isaac Bashevis Singer and S. Ansky, described the president’s actions as riddled with “deviations from usual procedures” that threaten the university’s academic autonomy.
In response, dozens of senior Harvard faculty members have signed a letter of protest to Garber, warning that the tenure denial jeopardizes the future of Yiddish studies at the university and its reputation as a leader in niche academic fields.
While Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, which co-reviewed Zaritt’s candidacy, showed narrower support — five in favor, two abstaining and one opposed — the protest letter, published in The Harvard Crimson, raised broader concerns about how the decision was made.
Zaritt and Sara Feldman, Harvard’s only Yiddish language instructor, are now expected to leave the university, potentially halting Yiddish studies altogether.
Prof. Derek Penslar, head of Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies admitted that the situation was troubling.
“I have made clear that the need for a robust center for Jewish Studies is greater than ever given the turmoil this campus has experienced over the past year,” he added, referring to ongoing campus protests connected to the war in Gaza.
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David Damrosch, who served on Zaritt’s tenure review committee, also criticized the president’s intervention.
The controversy comes amid broader challenges to Jewish studies at Harvard. Two key professors, Shaye Cohen and David Stern, are set to retire in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Annette Reed of Harvard Divinity School emphasized the urgency of addressing these trends. “It seems at this moment it’s very important for the University to put more resources into Jewish studies in general,” she said.
The case highlights a broader shift in academia, as universities increasingly prioritize lucrative fields such as business and law over humanities disciplines like literature and history. Zaritt’s supporters suspect financial motives behind the tenure denial, seeing it as part of a larger decline in the status of niche fields like Yiddish studies.
A Harvard spokesperson said the university remains “committed to maintaining Yiddish studies, language, and literature, which are essential aspects of the study of world history and culture,” but declined to comment on plans to appoint a new scholar or the circumstances surrounding Zaritt’s case.