Harvard Club of Israel: “Harvard has utterly failed” to stand with Israel

The Harvard Club of Israel has released a statement condemning one of the oldest and most respected academic universities for failing to take a clear stand against the terrorism committed by Hamas - all while 34 student groups had published a joint statement condoning these atrocities and “admonishing Israelis for having brought this on themselves.”

“From the outset, the leadership of Harvard, one of the oldest and most venerated academic institutions in the world, failed to take a stand against terrorism--or even make any statement at all--until backlash from the pro-Hamas letter forced the administration’s hand,” the statement said. “At that point, President \[Claudine\] Gay and several other senior administrators penned a lukewarm acknowledgement of ‘death and destruction’, and emphasizing the need for ‘dialogue’.”

The student group letter was condemned.

The statement is in reference to a letter written by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee stating that students "hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence", which was co-signed by more than 30 student groups. The letter was almost immediately condemned by other students and faculty, and soon after a counter-statement was released by 17 further Harvard groups and staff members who called the initial letter “completely wrong and deeply offensive.”

“We, the Harvard Club of Israel, expect better,” this third letter continued. “The barbaric acts that Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization, has perpetrated against the Israeli civilian population are despicable war crimes. Harvard holds itself out as a thought leader for the world. Its very motto is ‘Veritas’ (Truth), and its leadership is tasked with shining the light of truth for its students, alumni and the world. They have utterly failed.”

Since the attack on Saturday, more than 1,300 have been murdered by members of Hamas, the terrorist group from Gaza. Israel is currently undergoing counter-strikes in the region.

“We recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is immensely complex, and any discussion of the conflict requires nuance,” said the Harvard Club of Israel. “But there is no nuance in the wide-scale murder, rape, kidnapping, torture, and desecration of bodies being perpetrated and then celebrated by Hamas and its followers. Hamas does not represent the purported aspirations of the Palestinian people and it offers only bloodshed and terror to the Palestinian people.”

The initial letter was co-signed by groups such as the Harvard Islamic Society, Harvard Divinity School Muslim Association, and the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, among several others. Following the backlash, many students have accused those online of ‘doxxing’ their identities and now are concerned about future employment due to their connection to the letter.

Following the release of the letter, several prominent business leaders such as billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman have called for all student names to be released. “I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members,” he wrote on his X social media account on Tuesday. “If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known.”

The revolt against students who signed an anti-Israel, pro-Hamas statement has been tinged with irony: for years, liberal academic institutions often called for the ‘cancellation’ of students and public figures due to opinions they held in public and private. In 2019, Harvard University rescinded its offer to Parkland mass shooting survivor Kyle Kashuv because of comments he had made privately as a child in a group chat years before.

“While President Gay later issued a back-pedaling statement calling Hamas’s actions abhorrent, it was too little, too late,” the statement concluded. “In the face of evil, Harvard must proclaim that pro-terrorism statements like those published by the student groups on Sunday have no place in civil discourse at Harvard or elsewhere. If Harvard wishes to be a moral leader for the world, its administration must speak out immediately and forcefully. Anything less than full support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens and unequivocal denunciation of this terrorism is unacceptable and is wholly inadequate for an institution of Harvard’s caliber.”

The statement was signed by a total of 15 people, including Sagi Melamed, Ofir Zigelman, Yaniv Rivlin, Zaki Djemal, and others.