- Gay said in a statement today that students who threaten Jews 'will be held accountable'
- It was a dramatic turnaround from her shocking testimony in Congress yesterday
- Bill Ackman led the donor boycott and calls for her to resign
Harvard President Claudine Gay today walked back her shocking comments about anti-Semitism, insisting that her words were “confusing” and that the school will take action against anyone who threatens Jewish students.
Gay and the presidents of UPenn and MIT have been eviscerated for telling Congress yesterday that calls for genocide of Jews do not violate their codes of conduct.
After strong backlash and a donor boycott, Gay released a statement today insisting she had been misunderstood.
Harvard President Claudine Gay yesterday at congressional hearing where she said calling for genocide of Jews does not violate the school's code of conduct
Gay released the statement Wednesday amid growing calls for her resignation
“Some have confused the right to free speech with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students.
“Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group, are despicable, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held accountable,” he said. she.
It came as the White House joined in condemning her comments.
'It is unbelievable that this has to be said: the call for genocide is monstrous and contradicts everything we stand for as a country.
“Any statements that advocate the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and abhorrent – and we must all oppose them firmly, standing on the side of human dignity and the most fundamental values that unite us as Americans,” said Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates against Mediaite.
Gay was asked repeatedly and unequivocally yesterday whether calling for the genocide of Jews amounts to bullying or intimidation.
She said the words themselves were “horrendous” but did not rise to the level of a rule violation.
Action could only be taken, she said, if the hate speech turned into “behavior.”
Today, students from the schools, along with some of the shocked Republicans at the hearing, say it is clear that all three should resign.
The boards of each school – which ultimately decide whether the women will remain in their positions – have yet to make their positions clear.
And while donors including Bill Ackman have expressed disgust at the comments, other prominent alumni and donors such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have remained silent on the matter.
The Harvard Board of Overseers has yet to respond to questions about Dr. Gay, just like the Alumni Association. UPenn and MIT have been quiet for a while.
Representative Elise Stefanik (who was the most aggressive in questioning the trio yesterday), denounced the “moral turpitude” of their answers.
“I have been in some very high-profile congressional hearings over the years and I have never witnessed the pathetic moral turpitude displayed by the witnesses, the three university presidents of Harvard, Mitt and Penn.
“I asked the question in such a way that it was an easy yes, that calling for genocide of the Jews is in fact against their policy and code of conduct when it comes to bullying and harassment.
'Their answers were pathetic. I was so shocked, Harris, and what was probably the most tragic aspect of the hearing for me was that there were a number of Jewish students from those schools sitting in the audience behind them and just looking in fear as they listened to the presidents . of these universities fails to answer a fundamental question about moral clarity.'
Jewish students at UPenn have also spoken out against the testimony.
They say they had begged for leadership for months before Oct. 7 but were ignored.