After Harvard President Claudine Gay would not say that the calls for the genocide of Jews was a breach of the Ivy League university’s code of conduct, the local campus Jewish organization called on the president to “take action” to protect Jewish students.
When responding to Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, questions on Harvard’s rules for bullying and harassment, President Gay said that speech that qualifies as harassment “depends on the context.”
The Jewish student organization, Harvard Hillel, said that President Gay’s “refusal” to “draw a line” on threatening antisemitic speech is “profoundly shocking.”
“President Gay’s refusal to draw a line around threatening antisemitic speech as a violation of Harvard’s policies is profoundly shocking given explicit provisions within the conduct code prohibiting this kind of bullying and harassment,” the Harvard Hillel said in a statement posted on social media.
STEFANIK GRILLS HARVARD PRESIDENT OVER STUDENTS CALLING FOR ‘INTIFADA,’ RAMPANT ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS
Dr. Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on December 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The organization said that they are appalled by the president’s lack of action and questioned the president’s “ability to protect Jewish students on Harvard’s campus.”
“We are appalled by the need to state the obvious: A call for genocide against Jews is always a hateful incitement of violence. President Gay’s failure to properly condemn this speech calls into question her ability to protect Jewish students on Harvard’s campus,” the Harvard Hillel said. “Chants to “globalize the intifada,” an endorsement of violent terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli civilians, and “from the river to the sea,” an eliminationist slogan intended to deprive Jews of their right to self-determination in Israel, have become tragically routine at Harvard.”
