Harvard President Claudine Gay has convened an “antisemitism advisory board” following intense backlash over the Ivy League school’s failure to condemn its pro-terror students in the wake of a terrorist attack in Israel earlier this month.
Harvard President Claudine Gay has convened a group of advisers to combat antisemitism at the university, weeks after she faced criticism for not immediately rebuking a student letter that placed all blame for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and after some Jewish students alleged that anti-Jewish bigotry at Harvard is on the rise.
Harvard University President-elect Claudine Gay arrives on stage during the 372nd Commencement at Harvard University. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
“As we grapple with this resurgence of bigotry, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: Antisemitism has no place at Harvard,” Gay said at a Shabbat dinner hosted by Harvard Hillel, a Jewish campus group, on Friday, according to a report by the Boston Globe.
“For years, this university has done too little to confront its continuing presence. No longer,” the Harvard president added.
Therefore, Gay said she has assembled a group of faculty, staff, alumni, and Jewish religious leaders “whose wisdom, experience, and counsel will help guide us forward.”
Gay’s announcement came nearly three weeks after more than 30 of its student groups responded to a terrorist attack against Israel by the Iranian-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas with a pro-terror statement.
On October 7, Hamas carried out a terrorist attack against Israel, which left more than 1,400 Israelis dead, and also involved rape, kidnappings, and bodies being set on fire.
In their statement, the students did not criticize or condemn the mass murder of Jews by Hamas, but instead, declared, “We hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
Initially, Harvard leadership remained silent in the wake of the attacks, and only issued a statement as backlash was mounting. Moreover, in their statement, the school had failed to push back against its more than 30 student organizations that publicly took the side of the Palestinian terrorists.
Following more backlash over their statement, Gay then released a second statement, in which she distanced Harvard from its pro-terror student groups.
Then, Harvard — which has been named 2023’s worst school for free speech — issued a third statement, in which Gay ironically stressed Harvard’s “commitment to free expression” in the wake of its students issuing a pro-terror statement.
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