The night of October 7th, 2023, the Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Committee released an open letter in regard to attacks from terrorist group Hamas. It had signatures from over thirty other Harvard campus organizations and began with, “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” The statement was met by immense fallout from both on and off the Harvard campus. Pro-Palestine groups at the prestigious university release statements condemning Israeli policies often, facing little backlash or attention. This time, however, the conflict in Gaza has the eye of the media and the world. The statement continued, “Today's events did not occur in a vacuum… The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years.” This comes after over 1,400 Israelis were killed by Hamas’ attack, and now, over 7,000 Palestians have been killed by Israeli retaliatory bombings in Gaza (as of October 27).
When the students released their statement, they faced immediate backlash from fellow students, university donors, and right-wing media personalities. Billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife are among those who quit one of Harvard’s executive boards in response to the statement. They were disillusioned with the response from the leadership of the university, with Ofer saying he decries “the lack of clear evidence of support from the University’s leadership for the people of Israel” in an interview with CNN. Harvard President Claudine Gay said in a video statement that “our University rejects terrorism — that includes the barbaric atrocities perpetrated by Hamas… Our University rejects hate — hate of Jews, hate of Muslims, hate of any group of people based on their faith, their national origin, or any aspect of their identity.” Other business leaders, including hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, have put pressure on the university to share the names and punish the students who were linked to the organizations that backed the statement. Nonetheless, Harvard has remained staunch in their defense of free speech, with Claudine Gay saying, “That commitment (of free expression) extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous. We do not punish or sanction people for expressing such views.”
Students who supported the statement have been doxxed and blacklisted, with many retracting their support to avoid harassment. Several days after the statement was released, a right-wing media group, Accuracy In Media, had a “doxxing truck” driving around the Harvard campus. This revealed the names and photographs of students who signed the letter, with the title “Harvard’s Leading Anti-Semites” written in gothic print above the students. In an interview with the "New York Times," one student who was targeted by the doxxing truck describes her reaction, saying “I threw up in Harvard Yard.” But it is not just the kids who face harassment, with that same student saying, “Every single member of my family has been contacted, including my younger siblings.” In addition, several law firms and corporations have compiled lists of the pro-Palestinian students, which civil liberties expert Nadine Strossen says sounds like a throwback to McCarthy era blacklists.
Many Jewish students were shocked and disgusted with the statement from their peers and neighbors. The lack of a disavowment from Harvard leadership also seemed off to many Israeli students, with Zebulon Erdos, a junior, describing Harvard’s initial silence on the Hamas attacks as terrifying. However, that evening, there was a prayer gathering for support of Harvard’s Jewish community, even featuring a surprise appearance from President Claudine Gay. Gay announced, “What I want to say is that Harvard has your back. We know the difference between right and wrong.” This was met with a standing ovation from the over 1,000 people in attendance. Muslim students feel that the university has been less supportive and accepting of their struggles. In a recorded video, for fear of their safety when appearing in public, a Muslim leader said, “We are scared to be Palestinian at this university.”
Across the campus, and especially for those with family involved in the conflict, emotions are running high. In an interview with The New Yorker, one Israeli student said, “I felt in my heart a physical pain, because I’m still worried about my friends... I don’t know if my grandma will make it out of there. And all of a sudden I see this statement.” This student has relatives that live in a kibbutz near Gaza and recounted learning about the death of one of her family’s neighbors at the hand of Hamas. Palestinian students are also speaking out about their suffering, with a speaker at a pro-Palestine rally saying how by the end of the week, many of her family members in Gaza had been killed. The last thing one of her great aunts had told her before losing cell service was “Ihna bil mot,” meaning, “we are in death.”
This is not the first time Harvard students have taken controversial stances on sensitive issues, but this is one of the most public instances. The intense political coverage raises important questions about biases in our media, with much of the coverage of the conflict skewed towards the Israeli perspective. Similar instances have occurred in other schools like the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, raising important questions about free speech on college campuses. What is the right balance between allowing freedom of expression and cracking down on hate speech? The writers of the Harvard open letter may not know the answers to all these questions, but they are not surprised by the passionate reactions they have elicited. “This isn’t a new phenomenon at all for Palestinians or allies of the struggle for Palestinian Liberation,” one of the writers said. “It’s just a risk that we know comes with the territory.” To them, the backlash exemplified a tendency to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian liberation with support for terror.