While Harvard University continues to fend off accusations of anti-Semitism, more than 65 faculty members have formed a pro-Palestinian advocacy group that denounces the “ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
In a statement released on January 6, a group of 67 Harvard University faculty members announced the creation of a chapter of the National Network of Judiciary Schools in Palestine. The newly formed group called on Harvard University to divest from the state of Israel and “companies that support Israeli apartheid, settler colonialism, and systematic human rights violations against the Palestinian people.” .
“The ongoing genocide in Gaza cannot be separated from more than 75 years of violent dispossession of the Palestinian people. We've covered it financially, militarily, morally, politically. It's colonial-era racial violence,” said a member of Harvard's Faculty of Palestine Justice (FSJP).
“Our universities play a key role in these structures of violence. In addition to investing in companies that maintain the occupation, many universities, including Harvard, have committed themselves to supporting students, faculty, and those critical of the violence. The State of Israel systematically censors, monitors, and disciplines education and speech.” ”
Harvard University accused of violating Jewish students' civil rights and allowing a 'cancer of anti-Semitism' to grow on campus
Palestine supporters gather at Harvard University to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 14, 2023. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
The student-led activist group Students for Justice in Palestine held an anti-Israel protest on campus following the October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack that left 1,200 Israelis brutally murdered. . The school's anti-Israel activities and the university's initial reluctance to condemn Hamas led to accusations that Harvard had become tolerant of anti-Semitism.
Several Jewish students then filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, claiming that “a cancer of anti-Semitism is on the rise on campus'' and that Harvard employs “professors who support anti-Semitic violence.'' he claimed.
For example, the complaint says, “The next day, Soussan Abdulrahim, a visiting scholar at the Harvard FXB Center, tweeted an image glorifying a Hamas terrorist paragliding.” hamas massacre And this is someone who keeps tweeting messages glorifying the intifada.”
Mr. Abdulrahim is a signatory of the FSJP statement.
Harvard University announces creation of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia task force amid Israel-Hamas war
Palestine supporters gather at Harvard University to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 14, 2023. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
The group strongly condemned Harvard University's response to pro-Palestinian protests on campus, saying that students “have been exposed to harassment, intimidation, and racist hate speech for defending Palestinian rights.” “I was exposed to an escalating campaign.”
FSJP cited examples of undergraduate students being disciplined for participating in protests, and Harvard University's request for Cambridge police and the FBI to investigate pro-Palestinian activities at the school.
The group also called on Harvard University to sever all economic ties with Israel and supported the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement amid Israel's ongoing war with Hamas.
Israel says thousands of people have been killed on both sides during the war, most of them civilians, and Hamas still holds more than 100 hostages.
More than 1,600 Jewish alumni call on Harvard University to crack down on anti-Semitism in scathing letter
Palestinian supporters gather at Harvard University to show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 14, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
FSJP stated, “We wholeheartedly reject the accusation that criticism of the state of Israel is anti-Semitic.” “We call for the liberation of all peoples, leading to a liberated future for both Palestinians and Israelis. Systems of oppression are deeply interconnected, and we further condemn anti-Palestinian racism. I am committed to combating all forms of discrimination and racism within Harvard University and beyond its walls, including “, anti-Muslim racism, anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy.'' , anti-Semitism.
Signatories include members of the Harvard College of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Divinity School, and nearly half are employees of Harvard Medical School.
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Harvard University interim president Alan Garber announced Friday the creation of two task forces on Harvard's campus to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
He said the task force would investigate recent incidents of bias, identify their root causes and recommend ways to mitigate them.
Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
