Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) slammed Harvard University in a letter on Thursday for failing to take action against anti-Semitism and siding with “those who hate Jewish students.”
“This institution has failed time and time again to take steps to properly address this scourge and hold perpetrators accountable,” Stefanik, who is a Harvard alumna, wrote in a letter to its interim president. “Your actions have continued to disgrace this institution and threaten the safety of the students you claim to serve.”
“At a time when support and applications for Harvard have fallen, university leadership has continuously chosen to side with those who hate Jewish students and faculty and failed to keep them safe,” Stefanik added.
Stefanik’s letter cited the school’s failure to take immediate action after an October 18 “die-in” at Harvard Business School, during which student activists displayed a sign with the genocidal anti-Israel slogan “from the river to the sea” and assaulted a student filming.
“During this event, an Israeli Harvard Business School student recorded the act and was quickly surrounded by a mob of anti-Israel protestors who assaulted and harassed him,” Stefanik wrote. “These assailants blocked his path, repeatedly grabbed him, and shouted ‘Shame! Shame! Shame!’ at him.”
Following the incident, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce — of which Stefanik is a member — obtained documents showing that the law firm Harvard hired to conduct an investigation shared video evidence of the incident with the victim’s lawyers in January.
Despite the video evidence, one of the accused assailants is scheduled to graduate in May 2024, the same month of a now-postponed court date.
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“Due to this postponement, the assailant will gain the lifelong distinction of being an alumnus of Harvard despite having committed a well-documented antisemitic hate crime against a fellow student,” Stefanik wrote. “Justice for this incident should have been served quickly, and the delay of justice that specifically allows an antisemitic student to graduate is an affront to accountability and demonstrates the cultural rot of Harvard University’s leadership that has allowed antisemitism to continue.”
In a statement provided after publication of this article, a Harvard spokesman said the student is not set to graduate in the spring, but declined to give a detailed explanation.
Stefanik went on to reference her December interaction with former Harvard president Claudine Gay, who said it depends on the context if calling for the genocide of Jews constitutes harassment.
“In front of Congress, when disgraced former Harvard Presdient Claudine Gay failed to denounce antisemitism and calls for genocide, she also claimed ‘disciplinary process are underway’ against perpetrators of antisemitism,” Stefanik’s letter states. “This has proven to be false, with Harvard producing no evidence of punishment against those who have committed crimes and violated Harvard’s code of conduct.”
The congresswoman also cited an incident first reported by The Daily Wire concerning Harvard employee Gustavo Espada challenging a Jewish student — who is suing the university over antisemitism — to a debate about whether Israel is responsible for 9/11.
“I invite you to debate me today at the Cambridge Street overpass 12-1, don’t miss it!” the financial systems coordinator for the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations wrote. “If you don’t show up I will use a puppet or potted plant to represent you!”
After The Daily Wire asked Gustavo for comment, he posted a video to TikTok holding a toy machete claiming he is ready to fight. “I’m not going to go into details, but this is a good plan. So if you follow us, this is what’s happening,” he says in Spanish before photos of various high-profile Jews and a screenshot of a tweet by the Jewish student.
“This recent case of Harvard protecting those who hate Jews is disgusting,” the New York congresswoman continued. “As an alumna of Harvard University, allowing this student to gain the title of Harvard graduate disgraces all who have come before him and erodes the distinction of a once sought after degree.”
The Daily Wire has extensively covered rising anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents at Harvard, including a student push to pass divestment resolutions, a contractor ripping down hostage posters, and events with speakers who justified the October 7 massacre.
This piece was updated with a statement from Harvard.