Harvard trying to turn page
Harvard University’s interim president has created two boards that will focus on combating antisemitism and Islamophobia in the wake of Claudine Gay’s resignation amid backlash over her comments about rising antisemitism on campus.
Harvard has been at the epicenter of student campus clashes over the Hamas-Israel war since Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. Antisemitic incidents and antiArab incidents have been reported across the Cambridge campus.
“Incidents of bias and hate against Jews and against Muslims, Palestinians, and other people of Arab descent have risen across the country,” Alan Garber, Harvard’s interim president, wrote to the campus community yesterday.
“Reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic acts on our campus have grown, and the sense of belonging among these groups has been undermined,” Garber added. “We need to understand why and how that is happening — and what more we might do to prevent it.”
The interim prez has created two presidential task forces — one devoted to combating antisemitism, and one committed to tackling Islamophobia and antiArab bias.
The boards plan to identify the contributing factors to bias-based behaviors on campus, and then recommend approaches to combat bias and mitigate its impact at Harvard.
“Strengthening our ties to one another will take considerable effort and engagement across the University,” Garber wrote.
“I have asked each task force to undertake broad outreach, and I encourage you to share your perspectives and your experiences with equal measures of care and candor,” the interim president added. “We have before us an opportunity to meet challenges with farreaching implications, and I am appreciative, as ever, for your help in our efforts.”
One recent notable incident on campus involved pro-Palestinian protesters surrounding a Jewish student, which led to reports being filed with the FBI and Harvard Police.
The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into Harvard University, and other schools, for possible civil rights violations since the war started. A group of Jewish students sued Harvard over “severe and pervasive” antisemitism on campus, claiming that Harvard has not done nearly enough to protect Jewish students.
Gay recently resigned as Harvard’s president following her controversial comments in front of Congress about antisemitism on campus, and in the wake of plagiarism allegations. Gay testified that student protesters’ calls for the genocide of the Jewish people do not necessarily violate Harvard’s policies.
“We have been through an extraordinarily painful and disorienting time for Harvard,” Garber, the interim president, wrote to the campus community after Gay’s resignation. “Since I first arrived here as an undergraduate in 1973, I cannot recall a period of comparable tension on our campus and across our community.”