Amid controversy, backlash, and AIM activism, Harvard finally reacts to students’ antisemitism
November 3, 2023
As you’ve noticed, we here at Accuracy in Media called out those vilely racist and terrorist-supporting students at Harvard over the Hamas attacks. We were the first to bring substantial attention to the student letter supporting that terrorism. We have also been calling out the individuals who signed on to that vileness. Some of the reaction has been law firms withdrawing job offers to such students. This seems reasonable and fair to us – you must accept the consequences of your speech.
But of course, that’s just a few students being affected. What matters much more is that the appalling acceptance of antisemitism on college campuses be reversed. For it is a part of the progressive and woke mindset that Israel is wrong, and Palestine is right. This is what all too many parts of academia have been teaching for many years now.
So, the more important thing is that that ends. The initial response from the Harvard authorities was not encouraging. Indeed, it was described as a “word salad”. A blather about, well, what is a blather about, that’s the point of the indeterminacy.
Then, people started actually to do things. Larry Hogan decided not to take up fellowships. We out here might think not so much of that, but to a college like Harvard, that’s a big deal. What, you mean someone doesn’t want to come here? There were those job offers being withdrawn, which was painful to the students – and good that this was so.
Harvard itself was still not quite getting it. In late October, the launch of a support system for the students who had signed and were being criticized.
Harvard will establish a task force to support students experiencing doxxing, harassment, and online security issues following backlash against students allegedly affiliated with a statement that held Israel “entirely responsible” for violence in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
No, the university’s reaction to students being criticized for being vile was to protect the students who had been vile.
This is why pressure needs to continue to be effective. This is the standard reaction of progressive academia. If people off campus criticize us, it’s those off campus who are wrong. Circle the wagons, and they’ll go away. But if that pressure does continue, then it will break through.
On Friday, we get the news we should have had weeks back. Heck, years and decades back:
“Harvard University President Claudine Gay is launching an anti-Semitism advisory board to address the problem on the Ivy League campus, The Harvard Crimson is reporting.”
Although we’d suggest that an advisory board isn’t enough. How about the idea that racial hate is wrong, whoever it comes from and whoever it is aimed at? The one thing that Harvard – and American academia – hasn’t been doing these past few decades.
Things are getting better because those who run colleges now are having to take account of what we out here think about what they’ve been doing. Which means that we’ve got to do more of it, right?