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:
Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence.” It added, “the apartheid regime is the only one to blame.
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.”
After saying Harvard would provide needed support to its students and colleagues, and would continue to seek to understand the conflict more clearly, the statement concluded, “As many colleagues, classmates, and friends deal with pain and deep concern about the events in Israel and Gaza, we must all remember that we are one Harvard community, drawn together by a shared passion for learning, discovery, and the pursuit of truth in all its complexity, and held together by a commitment to mutual respect and support. At this moment of challenge, let us embody the care and compassion the world needs now.”
Signed by President Claudine Gay and 17 other administrators, the statement was lambasted by several public figures. Harvard alum Representative Jake D. Auchincloss (D-Mass.), ridiculed it as “a word salad approved by committee,” according to The Harvard Crimson.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican and a Harvard Law School graduate, wrote on X, formerlyTwitter: “What the Hell is wrong with Harvard?”
Former Harvard president Lawrence Summers posted several comments on X: “I very much hope appropriate statements from the University and College condemning those who launched terrorist attacks and standing in solidarity with its victims will soon be forthcoming.”
And this: “The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups’ statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state.”
“In nearly 50 years of Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today,” added Summers.
On Tuesday morning, President Gay issued a second statement, signed only by herself, that read:
As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.
Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.
We will all be well served in such a difficult moment by rhetoric that aims to illuminate and not inflame. And I appeal to all of us in this community of learning to keep this in mind as our conversations continue.
It’s doubtful Gay’s follow-up statement will satisfy Harvard’s critics. It will be seen as too little, too late, especially in light of more forceful initial statements from other prominent university presidents.
For example, Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, issued a statement that began with a stronger attribution of responsibility to Hamas for the conflict.
Like so many, I spent this past weekend watching with horror and anguish as Hamas, in a surprise attack, crossed Israel’s border and brutally murdered hundreds of Israeli civilians and took many hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Already, in response to Hamas’ terrorism, countless Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli aerial bombardment. Many fear this will be a long and violent conflict that will take many more lives.
University of California Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib and UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., said this:
Our hearts are heavy in the face of the horrific attack on Israel over the weekend, which involved the loss of many innocent lives and the abduction of innocent hostages, including children and the elderly. This was an act of terrorism, launched on a major Jewish holiday. What should have been a quiet weekend of rest turned into days of unspeakable terror and shock. The violence is sickening and incomprehensible, and as of this moment we still do not know the fate of the hostages. This act deserves and requires our collective condemnation.
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce commented to her campus,
The terror, loss of life and outbreak of war in Israel and Gaza over the weekend, which began with the reprehensible attacks by Hamas, is devastating to all of us, and my heart is with every member of our community who has ties to or loved ones in this deeply troubled region. The tragic reality is that civilians have borne and will bear the brunt of this violence. In their attacks, Hamas has killed hundreds of civilians and taken scores more hostage. And many more in Israel and Gaza continue to die as the violence escalates. Every life claimed by this conflict is a tragedy.
While the clash of views at Harvard has captured the headlines, it’s far from the only campus facing such strife. The Hamas-Israel war is sure to lead to rising tensions among college faculty and students who will express strongly held, opposing opinions about the sources and consequences of the conflict.
It’s a difficult test of higher education’s values of free expression and open inquiry. Should universities take sides in such conflicts, or should they try to maintain neutrality?
College leaders must be vigilant in protecting the free speech rights of their campus communities, but their bigger challenge is to do so without remaining neutral about the obvious evil and immorality of terrorism.
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