Three student leaders have resigned from the Harvard Institute of Politics’ Student Advisory Committee, saying they are “ashamed” that the committee has decided to publicly condemn the attacks on Israel.
Former members Robert Fogel, Ryan Tierney and Theo Harper wrote that they could not “in good conscience” continue on the committee, according to The Crimson.
According to their statement, only 17.9 percent of students voted to adopt a statement of any kind on the ongoing conflict.
The students said: ‘To say we are disgusted is an understatement. Silence is complicity. Silence is incompatible with the principle of moral conviction.’
Harvard faces backlash after 31 of its student associations issued a joint statement ‘holding the Israeli regime fully responsible for all unfolding violence’.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee holds banners outside Harvard University
Continuing their statement, the students added: ‘Silence is why many students do not feel safe at Harvard right now.’
The Crimson reported that after the release of the statement, the Institute of Politics’ executive team said they weighed their options “heavily” before deciding not to issue an official statement on the raid.
The committee said: ‘We unequivocally condemn all acts of terror and violence against civilians in Israel and Palestine and are united in our deep sorrow at the challenging events that have faced our campus.’
According to the outlet, members of the committee deliberated on issuing a statement condemning the loss of civilian life in both Israel and Gaza.
The statement continued: ‘Some have claimed that we should condemn ‘all terrorism’, or not use the word ‘terrorism’ at all.
“Others declined to name Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization whose most recent actions include executing children, raping women and taking hostages.”
Fogel, Tierney and Harper said issuing a statement should never have been an issue in the first place, citing statements issued on the killing of George Floyd and Supreme Court rulings on abortion and affirmative action.
Their statement continued: ‘Condemning the slaughter of innocents is not political. It is a human obligation.
“The fact that we can’t come together to make a statement that defends our common humanity is deafening. If not now, then when? And if not us, who?’
In a statement published on the Ivy League institution’s website, university president Claudine Gay said the 31 student groups that pledged to support the militants “do not speak for the university or its leadership.”
An Israeli flag flies over body bags of more than 20 dead Hamas militants with the word ‘terrorist’ written in Hebrew, on a field at Kibbutz Be’eri, where dozens of civilians died.
Israel has continued an intense bombardment of Gaza since the unprecedented attack by Hamas terrorists last Saturday, which killed more than 1,200 people.
60 percent of the Student Advisory Committee members initially agreed to release a statement mourning civilian deaths in Israel and Gaza, but some withdrew for fear of being doctored by fellow students on campus.
Fogel, Tierney and Harper wrote they believe inaction will only make the situation worse.
They said: ‘Doxxing, verbal or physical threats, and any kind of Islamophobia is abhorrent and must be condemned. However, nothing that condemns terrorism puts students at risk.’
Subsequent protests kicked off at the Ivy League school, with Israel supporters branded ‘Nazis’ after challenging pro-Palestinian protesters.
A group of around 150 waving placards and Palestinian flags occupied the steps of Cambridge Town Hall.
One was seen stamping on an American flag while decrying the ‘brutal treatment of Palestinians since 1948’.
Israeli supporters then appeared on the scene, having brought along an amplifier and denounced the protesters as ‘terrorists’ and ‘cowards’.
Nazis, Nazis, Nazis,’ one man in a keffiyeh with Palestinian colors repeatedly chanted at the counter-protesters.
“Why do you kill children and women?” demanded a woman on the microphone. “Why don’t you fight the army. Let’s see how brave you are’
It comes after students at the elite school have thrown their own futures into doubt after a host of blue chip CEOs declared them unemployable.
After 31 of the student unions on campus held Israel responsible for ‘all the unfolding violence’, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman revealed that his fellow bosses want to know who they are, so ‘none of us accidentally appoint any of their members’.
The CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management said he had been approached by a number of CEOs, adding: “One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists, which, we now learned, decapitated babies, among other unimaginably despicable acts.’
Jonathan Neman, CEO of the food chain Sweetgreen, agreed, tweeting he ‘would like to know so I know never to hire these people’.
DoveHill Capital Management CEO Jake Wurzak backed the call, and EasyHealth Healthcare Services CEO David Duel replied: ‘Same.’
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman revealed that his fellow bosses want to know who the students are so ‘none of us accidentally hires any of their members’
Sweetgreen boss Jonathan Neman (left) and DoveHill Capital Management CEO Jake Wurzak (right) echoed the call
The groups said in their statement on Sunday that the attack that left more than 1,000 dead “did not happen in a vacuum”, claiming that the Israeli government had forced Palestinians to live in the open for more than two decades -to live in prison.
Harvard President Claudine Gay issued a statement Tuesday condemning “terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel” and insisting that the 31 student groups “do not speak for the university or its leadership.”
“Let me also say, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership,” Gay said.
Harvard President Claudine Gay (pictured) condemned the ‘terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel’ – clashing with student groups at the Ivy League institution
“As the events of the past few days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas,” Gay said in a statement.
“Such inhumanity is abhorrent, regardless of one’s individual view of the origins of protracted conflicts in the region,” she said.
The president then added: ‘We would all be well served in such a difficult moment by rhetoric that aims to enlighten and not inflame.
The organizations that signed the letter included Muslim and Palestinian support groups, plus others named for a variety of backgrounds, including the Harvard Jews for Liberation and the African American Resistance Organization.