Wexner Foundation severs Harvard Kennedy links

The Wexner Foundation, a prominent American Jewish fund, has decided to end its longstanding relationship with the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), condemning the school’s perceived marginalization of Israeli students.

In an open letter addressed to Harvard’s Board of Overseers on Monday, the foundation said, “We have observed that this cherished tolerance for diverse perspectives has slowly but perceptibly narrowed over the years,” adding that the “Wexner Israel Fellows are increasingly marginalized, their voices and views even shouted down.”

Following the worst breach of Israel’s defenses since Arab armies waged war on the Jewish state in 1973, and the resulting massacre of some 1,400 Israelis by Gaza’s Hamas terrorist movement, a storm is brewing at Harvard University. The current tension traces its origin to a pro-Palestinian students’ public letter, which triggered significant backlash among Harvard’s alumni community.

A coalition of 34 Harvard student organizations released a letter stating that they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” in light of decades of “occupation.” This coalition ranged from Muslim and Palestinian support groups to Harvard Jews for Liberation and the African American Resistance Organization. Reuters had yet to verify the exact number of students backing the letter.

In response, prominent

Harvard University alumni on Monday denounced the pro-Palestinian stance, emphasized the anti-Israel bias, and urged the university to take action against the signatories.

The Wexner Foundation followed with its own letter, saying, “We are stunned and sickened at the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists.” In the letter, the foundation terminated all its financial and programmatic relationships with Harvard and HKS, citing the institution’s failure to uphold values of diversity and inclusion for its Israeli students.

The Wexner Israel Fellowship, established by the foundation in 1989, provides an opportunity for select Israeli public sector leaders to pursue a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard Kennedy School. Upon graduating, these mid-career professionals are required to serve in Israel’s public sector for a minimum of three years and become members of the Wexner alumni community, thereby contributing to the enhancement of public leadership and management in Israel.

On Sunday, Jeffrey Swartz, chairman of MAOZ Israel, and Shimrit Bainhoren, CEO of MAOZ Israel, penned a letter to Professors Srikant M. Datar and Claudine Gaye of Harvard University, detailing the severe and horrifying attacks on Israel by Hamas.

They emphasized the scale and brutality of the violence, comparing the proportionate death toll of more than 1,400 Israelis in a population of some 10 million to a hypothetical 45,000 Americans in the September 11 attacks on America. Highlighting their longstanding relationship with Harvard Business School through the MAOZ program, they expressed their profound disappointment in Harvard’s response to the situation.

They criticized Harvard’s leadership for not taking a firmer stance against the atrocities and for failing to distance itself from the controversial statements made by its student organizations. They further urged Harvard to use its influential voice on the international stage to condemn the actions of Hamas and stand in solidarity with Israel.