The student groups behind Harvard University’s controversial “pro-terror” statement regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict organized a “die-in” Wednesday to protest “genocide in Gaza.”
The university’s “Palestine Solidarity Committee” and “Graduates 4 Palestine” groups organized the protest, which included “hundreds of students” laying down in a courtyard outside several of the dorm buildings as well as the school president’s office, reports the New York Post.
In footage captured from the event, the protestors can be seen holding signs with messages such as “Boycott Divest Sanction,” in reference to “BDS” protests against Israel, as well as “Hold Harvard Accountable for Supporting Genocide,” “No Justice No Peace,” and “Ceasefire Now.”
Activists organized a die in to denounce the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza at Harvard Business School, where President Obama and Harvard President Gay were invited to speak. pic.twitter.com/OgWR3pRP8b
— Kuffiya (@Kuffiyateam) October 18, 2023
The die-in was announced on Tuesday, with the group falsely claiming that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was responsible for bombing a hospital in Gaza City, supposedly killing “hundreds.”
“Israel just bombed al-Ahli hospital and medical center in Gaza where hundreds of Gazans were receiving medical treatment and seeking shelter,” the announcement on Instagram said.
Despite these claims, evidence has emerged from the IDF, as well as independent media, showing that it was an errant Palestinian terrorist group’s rocket and not an Israeli airstrike that hit the hospital. As Breitbart News reported Wednesday, video, radar, maps, media coverage of the impact site, as well as an intercepted call between two Hamas operatives, suggest that a Palestinian group’s rocket, launched near the hospital, misfired and hit the parking lot, causing a fire and apparent casualties.
Tamar, Yonatan, and their children — Shachar (6), Arbel (6), and Omer (4) — were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz. (@EladStr Twitter/X)
The die-in came nearly two weeks after the same groups behind it co-sponsored a letter titled “Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine,” which was signed by representatives of 31 other Harvard organizations.
The students’ statement blamed Israel for the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,300 people, including unarmed civilians, women, and children. According to the students, the “attack didn’t happen in a vacuum.”
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Joel Pollak“We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence. The apartheid regime is the only one to blame.”
A massive backlash ensued, including denunciation from the school’s billionaire donors as well as from former U.S. officials. As Breitbart News previously covered, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called on Harvard to release the names of students who are members of groups that signed the pro-terror statement so that employers do not “inadvertently” hire them. Several other CEOs and hedge fund executives have joined in the pledge to not hire anyone part of the organizations who signed the letter, prompting several signees to withdraw their support for the letter.
Hamas-sympathizers gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The committee in charge of the protest also claimed former President Barack Obama and Harvard President Claudine Gay were both invited to speak at the protest, but neither attended. As reported by NBC Boston, Obama was scheduled to make an appearance at the university for the launch of a new lab at Harvard Law on Tuesday but canceled after experiencing “COVID-like symptoms.”
Despite the former president not even showing up, his “attendance” was still protested by the Hamas-sympathizing student groups. Gay has also been protested against by the students for condemning Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, saying that none of the organizations that signed the letter standing in solidarity with Hamas spoke for the university.