Harvard University faced backlash from the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers due to a lack of administrative response to student organizations blaming Israel amid an escalating war with Hamas.
What Happened: Several high-profile Harvard alumni, many of them Republicans, criticized the institution for its perceived lack of support for Israel.
"What the hell is wrong with Harvard?" Cruz, who attended Harvard Law School, wrote on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who serves as the House Republican Conference Chair, said, "It is abhorrent and heinous that Harvard student groups are blaming Israel for Hamas' barbaric terrorist attacks that have killed over 700 Israelis."
A former Harvard president and longtime Washington economic policy hand, Summers also expressed his disappointment on social media. "The silence from Harvard's leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups' statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel," he said.
Summers, a Democrat who served in Bill Clinton‘s administration, said, "I am sickened. I cannot fathom the Administration's failure to disassociate the University and condemn this statement."
Why It Matters: The student organizations’ statement, blaming Israel for the violence, was signed by 35 groups, mainly identity-based groups and caucuses, many of which openly support the rights of Palestinian people.
The students, in their statement, conveyed that the Hamas-led attack did not take place in isolation and held Israel fully accountable for all the ongoing violence. "In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel's violence," the students wrote.
After facing significant criticism, Harvard’s administration issued a statement emphasizing the university’s commitment to fostering open dialogue. "We have no illusion that Harvard alone can readily bridge the widely different views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we are hopeful that, as a community devoted to learning, we can take steps that will draw on our common humanity and shared values in order to modulate rather than amplify the deep-seated divisions and animosities so distressingly evident in the wider world, it said, reported Politico.
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