Business Insider, Polly Thompson, December 9, 2023
A Harvard Jewish alumni group said that the university’s president Claudine Gay’s responses at Tuesday’s congressional hearing on antisemitism were a reflection of the university’s true attitude. During the hearing, Rep. Elise Stefanik asked Gay: “At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment?”
“It can be, depending on the context,” Gay replied. President Gay has since apologized for her remarks, telling the university’s student paper the Harvard Crimson that she was “sorry” and that “words matter.”
However, the Harvard College Jewish Alumni Association (HCJAA) said her words did not align with Harvard’s actions. “The testimony before Congress reflects Harvard’s overall pattern of deflection, hypocrisy, and a disregard for Jewish life,” Roni Brunn, a spokesperson for the HCJAA told Business Insider. “We doubt such a statement would be made if any other minority group were the subject.”
The HCJAA, which was formed after Hamas’ October 7 attacks, sent an open letter signed by more than 1,800 alumni expressing their dismay at Harvard’s “silence” following the attacks. The group has also launched a “One Dollar Pledge” campaign, which encourages alumni to cut their donations to one dollar and no more until Harvard makes campuses safe for Jewish students.
But they say both efforts have been met with silence from Harvard. “We have twice asked for a meeting with President Gay and did not receive one. There hasn’t been a direct response to our open letter and the One Dollar Pledge,” Brunn said.
“Since our first letter, we have not seen Harvard take a stand against antisemitic events,” Brunn said. “President Gay condemned the phrase “from the river to the sea” as calling for the eradication of Jews from Israel, yet no public action was taken less than a month later when students chanted it at the walk out [on November 29].”