Harvard is being denounced from several quarters over statements by student groups and its administration concerning the Hamas attack on Israel this past Saturday.
Harvard University is being denounced from several quarters after dozens of its student groups issued a statement claiming that Israel was “entirely responsible” for the brutal Hamas attacks on the country this past Saturday.
Adding to the outrage elicited by that statement was a widespread perception, including by many Harvard alumni, that the university’s leadership was slow to condemn the terrorist assault and ensuing atrocities forcefully enough or address broader issues of antisemitism adequately.
The controversy was sparked by a joint statement, endorsed by more than 30 student groups, titled “Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine.” In addition to saying “we… hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” the statement reads, in part:
As the fighting in Gaza and Israel intensified and the death count mounted dramatically, criticism of the statement was swift from Harvard faculty, alumni, and public officials in both political parties.
But Harvard’s administration, perhaps overly concerned about being seen as restricting student speech, issued two statements, the first of which did not even acknowledge the student claims and also failed to clearly condemn Hamas for its attacks. Instead, the statement said, “we are heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now under way.
