Adhering to ‘anti-Semitism as freedom of expression’ with the support of the president of Harvard University’s Board of Trustees

Adhering to ‘anti-Semitism as freedom of expression’ with the support of the president of Harvard University’s Board of Trustees

The Harvard University Board of Trustees went from ‘supporting the president’ to reaffirming ‘freedom of expression for anti-Semitism’ with an operating code of ‘no tolerance for disciplinary action against violence against students or disruption of the classroom experience’.
The presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania, who gave lukewarm answers to questions about ‘antisemitism’ at a Republican-led congressional hearing, were all pressured to resign, but the Harvard University Board of Trustees decided on the 12th to ‘remain in office’.
The University of Pennsylvania's president voluntarily resigned and a new president was appointed on the same day, while MIT retained its existing president.
The student newspaper 'Harvard Crimson' reported that four students were facing disciplinary action for participating in pro-Palestinian protests last month, and that two of them dragged students out of class, shouting, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Many Jews are offended by this phrase, saying it implies that the state of Israel should be eliminated.
Harvard University explicitly supported Dr. Gay, who is black and a woman, for the position of president, but said in a statement to its board of trustees, "Far too many people have suffered tremendous harm and suffering as a result of Hamas's brutal terrorist attacks. The university's initial statement was immediate, direct, and clear." “It should have been a condemnation,” he said.
Harvard University did not respond when a pro-Palestinian student group sent an open letter saying Israel was "totally responsible" for the violence, and the university later issued a letter acknowledging "feelings of fear, sadness, and anger." sent to the community.
As protests broke out, President Claudine Gay added a statement condemning Hamas' "terrorist atrocities" and urged people to use words that "shine the light, not the fire."
“We would all be well-served by rhetoric that aims to shine a light, rather than ignite, these difficult moments,” said President Gay's opening statement on October 12. “I ask all of us in this learning community “I appeal to you to keep this in mind as our dialogue continues,” he wrote.
Critics, including Harvard alumni and sponsors, criticized the statement and called it inappropriate.
Harvard University's student newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, faces new disciplinary action from Harvard University's administrative committee after four undergraduate students led or participated in a pro-Palestinian "week of action" on November 24.
The New York Times reported, “Two of the students dragged the students out of the classroom, shouting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Many Jews found this phrase offensive, as it implied that the state of Israel should be eliminated. It was announced on the 12th.
President Gay's response to a question asked on the 4th at a congressional hearing investigating anti-Semitism on campus is as follows: 'Does threatening to commit mass murder of Jews violate the school's code of conduct?'
At the hearing, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (D-N.Y.) asked President Gay: "Does calling for the extermination of Jews at Harvard violate Harvard's bullying and harassment rules? Yes or no?" In response to the question, President Gay responded, “Depending on the context, that may be the case.”
In response to continued pressure from Rep. Stefanik, Gay said a short time later, "When anti-Semitic rhetoric devolves into actions that amount to harassment and intimidation, that is a possible action, and we take action."
Rep. Stefanik asked again, "So, the answer is yes, calling for the extermination of Jews is against the Harvard Code of Conduct, right?" President Gay responded, "Again, it depends on the context." .
Under attack from Harvard University's major financial backers, prominent Jewish alumni, and members of Congress, the university's board of trustees deliberated late into the night on the 11th and issued a statement of support on the 12th.
The Harvard Board of Trustees said it “firmly supports Dr. Gay, and after several days of silence and intense public pressure, we unanimously support her.”
President Gay acknowledged on the 12th that three additional papers had been accused of plagiarism and that Harvard University had conducted a review and determined that the university's standards for "research misconduct" had not been violated.
The Harvard University investigation said it "revealed several instances of inappropriate citations" and that "two papers will require four revisions to insert citations and quotation marks omitted from the original publication."
“As members of the Harvard corporation, we today reaffirm our support for President Gay to continue to lead Harvard University,” the board said in a statement signed by all board members except President Gay. “It confirms our confidence that he is the right leader to help communities heal and solve the very serious social problems we face.”
“We stand for open discourse and academic freedom,” a statement from Harvard University’s board of trustees said. “And we are united in our strong belief that calls for violence against students and disruption of the classroom experience will not be tolerated.”
Commenting on the Harvard board's decision to 'endorse', Gunduz Vassaf, a visiting professor of psychology, said, "I fully support her testimony to Congress. I believe it was taken out of context in the emotion of the immediate moment," and added, " “As long as there is no call for violence, this is within freedom of speech,” he told the AP.
“She defended a diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucracy that had become an ‘incubator for anti-Semitism,’” said Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, an Israel defender. “Now she allows free speech and attacks some groups.” "We are presiding over a dangerous double standard of not attacking other groups. Schools must decide between freedom of expression for all, equal or equally applied restrictions," he said, criticizing the board's decision to 'endorse' the board. told AP.
The U.S. Department of Education announced on the 12th that it has begun human rights investigations at Stanford University, UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Washington, University of Seattle, Rutgers University, and Whitman University.
The U.S. Department of Education previously began human rights investigations at Harvard, Pennsylvania, Cornell, and Columbia universities.