Harvard’s president insisted that the Ivy League school would punish calls for genocide against Jews on campus, an apparent retreat from testimony before Congress where she repeatedly refused to explicitly denounce anti-Semitic behavior at the university.
“There are those who have confused the right to free speech with the idea that Harvard will tolerate calls for violence against Jewish students,” said President Pauline Gay. said in a statement on Harvard’s official X account on Wednesday.
“Let me be clear: calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group, are vile, have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held accountable.”
Just a day earlier, during heated testimony before the House Education Committee about anti-Semitism on college campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Gay refused to answer “Yes” when the former student Harvard and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated school policies against bullying and harassment.
Harvard President Pauline Gay recanted her Tuesday testimony before Congress, saying Harvard would punish calls for Jewish genocide. REUTERS
“It can be, depending on the context,” Gay responded, adding: “…Anti-Semitic rhetoric, when it turns into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation, is actionable conduct, and we take action.”
But when Stefanik pressed him to confirm with a “Yes” that calls for Jewish genocide were unacceptable, Gay did not do so.
“Again, it depends on the context,” the president said.
Harvard has been embroiled in controversy over the past two months as administrators have struggled to address pro-Palestinian protesters who have accosted Jewish students and marched with phrases like “Intifada” and “From the River to the Sea,” which They are often interpreted as calls for mass violence against Jews.
Harvard University has faced controversy for its halting response to the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. AFP via Getty Images
During his testimony, Gay defended the school’s response as a commitment to free speech.
“I have tried to confront hate while preserving free expression,” he said. “Speech that incites violence, threatens safety, or violates Harvard’s policies against bullying and harassment is unacceptable.”
The testimony drew criticism even in the White House.
“It is incredible that this needs to be said: Calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we stand for as a country,” White House senior communications adviser and deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn