Harvard finds itself embroiled in a week long controversy Thirty student groups signed a letter accusing Israel of Hamas terrorist attacks and the university’s slow response in publicly addressing the matter. The letter and Harvard’s response set off a very public war of words that attracted some of the biggest names in Harvard circles: a former and current university president, a billionaire hedge fund manager, a former White House staffer personnel, and now billionaire board members.
Fire broke out on Saturday after Hamas attacked Israel, when a group called the Harvard Palestinian Solidarity Group issued a statement a letter On Instagram, it said “the Israeli regime takes full responsibility for all the violence that is taking place”. It took Harvard leadership nearly 48 hours to denounce the letter. Before the school responded, former Harvard president Larry Summers and renowned economics professor Jason Furman accused the school of being slow to speak out. Meanwhile, hedge fund billionaire and alumnus Bill Ackman called on the university to release the names of members of the group who signed the letter.
Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government received backlash on Friday.Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer has an estimated net worth of US$13.6 billionand his wife Bhatia resigned from the school’s executive committee. Ofer and his wife told CNN they left the board because of “the lack of clear support for the people of Israel from university leadership in the wake of the tragic events of the past week and their apparent unwillingness to acknowledge what Hamas has done.” Do what you do”. Yes, a terrorist organization. ”
“Unfortunately, our confidence in the university’s leadership has been shattered and we cannot in good faith continue to support Harvard University and its committees,” they told CNN.
Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government declined to comment.
On Monday, Harvard University President Claudine Gay issued a statement about the attack, saying the school was “heartbroken” but did not acknowledge the student letter, which had been published two days earlier. On Tuesday, she faced criticism for her initial comments and issued another statement distancing herself from Hamas’s student letter and strongly condemning Hamas. “Without a doubt, I condemn the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas,” Gay said. wrote in the second statement.
She also sought to differentiate between the university and its student body. “I would also like to state that, on this and other issues, while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no one student group — not even 30 student groups — represent Harvard University or Its leadership speaks.”
Guy’s comments follow criticism from prominent figures in Harvard circles.
Summers said he has never been more “disillusioned” in his 50 years with the university. He was particularly frustrated that the university failed to disavow the student letter or issue its own public statement in support of Israeli civilians who were killed, injured or held hostage. Summers said Harvard’s silence on the issue contrasts with previous decisive comments on other issues such as police violence in the United States and the war in Ukraine.
“Harvard’s definition is clearly a morally unsound statement from two dozen student groups who blame Israel for all violence,” Summers posted on social media. X, formerly Twitter. “I am sickened. I cannot understand why the government has failed to disassociate itself from the university and condemn this statement.”
For this student letter, Furman struck a similar tone to Summers. “The emotion it expresses is shocking,” Furman wrote About X. “Placing the blame for the massacre of hundreds of civilians on the victims. Pardoning the perpetrators of any institution. This is morally ignorant and painful for other members of the community.”
The student’s letter prompted a strong reaction from Ackman, chief executive of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management.On Tuesday, he was X Some CEOs asked him whether Harvard would release the names of students in the organizations who signed the letter to ensure “none of us has inadvertently hired any of their members.”
After this statement was published, the student list began to circulate on the Internet. At this time, Harvard Palestine Solidarity, the coalition that published the letter, has removed the names of the organizations that signed the letter, citing security concerns. Some Harvard alumni report being sucked into the vortex even though they no longer attend the university. Furman shared an email from a student who graduated two years ago and has been cited by critics of Harvard as part of a group currently signing the controversial letter.
The conservative activist group Accuracy in Media even hired a billboard truck to drive around Harvard’s campus with photos of some of the student leaders who signed the letter, labeling them “Harvard’s leading anti-Semites.” Tag of.
Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tlaib CNN Such tactics are unconstructive and dangerous. “We should not repeat the mistakes of the McCarthy era for the sake of moral clarity,” he said.
Hillel, a Jewish organization on Harvard’s campus, also condemned the advertising trucks and the public campaign to shame signers. “Harvard Hillel strongly condemns any attempt to threaten and intimidate co-signers of the Palestinian Solidarity Council statement,” the organization posted on its website.
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