Harvard University is facing backlash from alumni over its handling of antisemitism on campus, with more than 1,600 former students saying they will pause donations to the university unless it does more to address the issue, CNN reported.
An open letter to President Claudine Gay and Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana has continued to rack up signatures from members of the Harvard College Jewish Alumni Association (HCJAA) as they call on the university to protect students from antisemitic abuse.
The letter comes amid a wave of criticism directed at US colleges’ handling of antisemitism in the wake of Israel’s military action against Gaza following the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks.
“We never thought that, at Harvard University, we would have to argue the point that terrorism against civilians demands immediate and unequivocal condemnation,” the HCJAA said. “We never thought we would have to argue for recognition of our own humanity.”
The group, which was formed after the Hamas attacks, condemned the university’s initial lack of response to the attacks, saying it “conveyed the implicit approval of a silent administration.”
Following a controversial letter signed by 30 student groups that claimed Israel was “entirely responsible” for the violence, Harvard President Claudine Gay announced the creation of an advisory group and reaffirmed Harvard’s “commitment to protecting all members of our community from harassment and marginalisation.”
The HCJAA acknowledged Gay’s efforts but outlined several steps that it still wants to see Harvard take on the issue.
The group suggests staff and students undergo training on antisemitism and wants to see plans created “to ensure the protection of Jewish students on campus” and “to curb the dissemination of hate speech.”
It also suggested that the university adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of “antisemitism”.
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“We want the University to adopt a definition of antisemitism that treats speech calling for the obliteration of the Jewish state as antisemitic and speech that treats all Jews as collectively guilty for any policy taken by the Jewish state as antisemitic,” Rebecca Claire Brooks, an organiser of the HCJAA told Fox News Digital.
This week, the Biden Administration told colleges that they risk losing federal funding if they do not take steps to prevent antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Harvard University and the HCJAA did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment, which was made outside normal working hours.
Meanwhile in Canada, A Jewish school in Montreal was hit by gunfire early on Sunday, making it the third time in less than a week that a Jewish school in the Canadian city was hit amid heightened tensions over the conflict between Israel and Gaza, police said, according to local media.
No one was injured but the facade of Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal was struck. Bullet impact marks and bullet shells were found after residents heard gunfire early on Sunday, CBC News in Canada reported.
At the two other schools in Montreal, both reported finding a bullet hole in their front doors on Thursday morning, local media reported.
It was unclear if the incidents at Jewish schools in the city’s west end were related.
On Wednesday, a violent altercation at Concordia University between people aligned with opposing sides of the conflict in Israel and Gaza resulted in injuries and an arrest, according to CBC News.
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Mayer Feig, a member of the Council of Hasidic Jews of Quebec, said shooting at schools is meant to intimidate the Jewish population in the city, the news agency reported earlier.
In Toronto, police have reported hate crimes against Jews and Muslims had more than doubled the tally for all of 2022 in the three weeks after the initial Hamas attack on October 7.
Additional reporting by Reuters