Larry Summers, a controversial Palestinian-American academic who has advocated “anti-Semitic” views, has been admitted to Ivy League campuses twice since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. He criticized Harvard University for inviting him to the event, but did not contact any pro-Israel speakers.
The former Treasury secretary and Harvard University president denounced the invitation to Rashid Khalidi, a professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University and de facto former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Mr. Summers was one of the first to criticize his alma mater for not condemning the genocide, but compared Mr. Khalidi to Edward Said, another Palestinian-American scholar who teaches literature at Columbia University and has been critical of Israel. I compared it to
“Rachid Khalidi, the intellectual successor to Edward Said, considered by many to be an anti-Semite, has been invited to speak at universities twice since October 7th. Stay tuned,” Summers wrote in a lengthy X post on Tuesday.
“Everyone should be able to speak freely and invite speakers. Also, it’s unfortunate, but not really surprising, that as far as I’m concerned, Harvard doesn’t have Dennis Ross or Brett.” We also note that there are no speakers who take pro-Israel positions like Stevens.
Summers continued, “With all the rhetoric about open dialogue and debate, it is noteworthy that no dialogue or debate has yet been published at Harvard on any issues related to the Middle East or diversity.” Stated.
The newspaper reached out to Summers, Harvard University and Halliday for comment.
In the 1970s, Mr. Khalidi taught in Beirut and served as a spokesman for the PLO under President Yasser Arafat. After the PLO was expelled from Jordan in 1970, it moved its forces to Lebanon.
In the early 1990s, he served as an advisor to the Palestinians in peace negotiations with Israel.
Weeks after Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel in a stunning attack, Khalidi told journalist Glenn Greenwald: violently and negatively. ”
Khalidi declined to say whether Israel has a “legal and moral right” to respond with force to Hamas attacks.
“Israel thought it could live a peaceful and quiet life while burdening the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And sooner or later it was bound to explode,” Khalidi said.
In 2008, The Los Angeles Times reported Halliday announced that he had obtained footage of then-Senator Barack Obama toasting Halliday at his farewell dinner in Chicago in 2003.
When he ran for president, Mr. Halliday told the Los Angeles Times that he no longer kept in touch with Mr. Obama, although they had dinner several times when they lived in Chicago.
In a lengthy post, Summers added, “My confidence in the ability and willingness of Harvard’s leadership to confront anti-Semitism and the demonization of Israel continues to decline.”
“Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear why Harvard ranks last in defending free speech but ranks first in anti-Semitism.”
He said the Executive Committee of Harvard University’s Center for Middle East Studies recently endorsed a statement from the North American Association for Middle East Studies Board of Directors accusing Israel of “besieging the Gaza Strip and indiscriminately bombing its population and infrastructure.” I quoted what I did.
Israel is “killing, injuring, and displacing Palestinians” while “exacerbating the structural violence of Israeli rule…”[which] It does little to increase the security of Israelis,” the statement said.
Summers accused Harvard University’s Center for Middle East Studies of supporting statements that “demonize” Israel.
The Post has reached out to Harvard University’s Center for Middle East Studies for comment.
Famous Harvard alumni like Summers and hedge fund billionaires Ken Griffin and Bill Ackman have responded to anti-Semitic incidents on campus in the wake of the October 7 attack. He criticized the school’s response.
Griffin told a conference in Miami on Tuesday that he would end financial support for Harvard unless the university makes significant changes to its anti-Semitism policies. The hedge fund billionaire lamented the “whiny snowflakes” produced by Ivy League schools.
Mr. Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, is the president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay, who resigned earlier this month after being found to have plagiarized several academic papers. He was one of the leading voices calling for his ouster.
Mr. Gay’s successor, interim President Alan Garber, sparked outrage by naming Professor Derek Pensler, a fierce critic of Israel, to co-chair a presidential task force dedicated to combating anti-Semitism on campuses. .
Summers last week condemned the move, saying, “I have lost confidence in the determination and ability of Harvard University and its leadership to maintain Harvard as a place where Jews and Israelis can thrive.” .
