Lindsey Gabo, a second‑year student at Harvard Law School and U.S. Army veteran, told the Special Commission on Antisemitism that the campus climate after October 7, 2023, left many Jewish and pro‑Israel students feeling isolated and unsafe.

Gabo described arriving at Harvard in September 2024 to a campus still marked by the previous year's protests. "At Harvard Law School virtually no one seems interested in having a dialogue about Israel," she said, adding that students often will not speak about Israel without invoking accusations such as "genocide in Palestine." She described flyers down Massachusetts Avenue that showed photos of hostages which were repeatedly defaced and replaced by "Free Palestine" stickers, and said the images reminded her of her own infant son.

Why it matters: Gabo said the environment is not just a Jewish problem but a loss to academic inquiry. She told commissioners that she and peers felt decisions by student government and activist groups created a hostile climate: she called a student council vote on a BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) resolution "the culmination" of a year in which the council "focused almost exclusively on Israel." She also recounted concerns about on‑campus safety and how security responses affected students, including an incident at Harvard Business School where an Israeli student was assaulted; she said some victims and witnesses perceived police and campus security as insufficiently responsive in earlier cases.

Key facts and testimony: Gabo said she followed the protests closely while pregnant and deferred enrollment for a year; she described a pattern of student rejection of dialogue and an atmosphere where students felt they could not publicly identify as Zionist without ostracism. On campus procedures, she said she had seen periodic emails from administration acknowledging antisemitism but was not aware of concrete programming to "revitalize the culture" of discussion; when pressed by commissioners she said she had not yet taken a Harvard training course noted in the witness exchange.

Mental health and inclusion: Commissioners pressed Gabo about the mental‑health implications of isolation and fear; she described options students choose—hide identity, isolate among Jewish peers, or withdraw from some campus life—and said the consequences were particularly acute for younger students whose social networks are mostly campus‑based.

Discussion vs. decision: Gabo offered firsthand accounts and urged more institutional action; the commission did not make formal decisions at the hearing but discussed sharing the Harvard task‑force report with commissioners and considering how training and reporting measures might be strengthened in the higher‑education recommendations.

What’s next: Commissioners said they would review the Harvard task‑force report and other materials and emphasized they would include higher‑education recommendations in the commission’s November report.