Perfume giant Jo Malone’s son is reportedly listed as a leader for one of the Harvard University groups that blamed Israel for the violence and atrocities committed by the deadly terrorist group Hamas in its attack against the Jewish state.
Josh Wilcox, a 22-year-old whom Harvard’s directory of student groups names as one of the three leaders that run the undergraduate “Palestine Solidarity Committee,” was involved in the joint statement from 34 student organizations that said they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
Jo Malone, his 60-year-old mother, told The Daily Mail in a statement that the war between Israel and Hamas left her “heartbroken” and described the Hamas attacks as “abhorrent” but refused to address her son’s affiliation with the letter.
“We as a family are heartbroken by the events of recent days and strongly condemn all forms of violence,” she reportedly said. “The abhorrent attack on innocent people on Saturday in Israel is beyond what any family should endure.”
“We again strongly condemn all forms of violence and those that incite it,” the statement continued. “We have always acted with a heart for people wanting always to strive towards a peaceful solution to any conflict. This is a horrendous moment in our history where innocent people are paying the greatest price with their lives.”
“It is utterly heartbreaking and must stop,” she added. As a family our hearts goes out to all those suffering terrible losses at this time and we send untold gratitude to all those selflessly risking their lives for others. We call upon all leaders to find a humanitarian resolution for all.”
Malone sold the Jo Malone London perfume company to cosmetics giant Estée Lauder in 1999, approximately two years before giving birth to Josh. She now owns the British niche perfume brand JoLoves.
According to the outlet, Willcox is the only child of Malone and her husband Gary, and spent most of his childhood in New York. He later attended the elite Latymer Upper School in London, which costs students approximately $30,000 annually.
As a Harvard student, Wilcox reportedly studies Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations with history and specializes in Arabic. He also competes for the private Ivy League university’s fencing team and has written at least three articles about Palestinian-controlled areas for the Harvard Crimson.
Malone told The Daily Mail that her statement was the only comment she would make relating to the terrorist attack on Israel that has so far killed at least 1,300 people, including 27 Americans, and injured approximately 3,000 others.
The students faced swift backlash from faculty, students, and prominent politicians. Several groups quickly backtracked, and one Harvard Law student who sat on the board of a group that signed the letter resigned, calling the statement “egregious.”
In response, 17 student groups, about 500 faculty and staff, and more than 3,000 affiliates signed a statement calling the student organization’s letter “completely wrong and deeply offensive.”
The student organization complained over the university’s lack of support in its latest comments reported by The Daily Mail, saying the administration “invests in Israeli apartheid.”
“The ongoing discourse centered on Harvard diverts focus from the relentless carnage in Gaza, a dire situation which our joint statement urgently warned about,” it said.
Wilcox and the other anti-Israel students who signed the letter now face post-graduation woes after at least 10 CEOs and other executives backed a call not to hire those who blamed Israel for the latest conflict in the Middle East.
The executives expressed their support after Bill Ackman, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, called on Harvard to release a list of the students who signed the anti-Israel letter.
“I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members,” Ackman, an alumnus of Harvard, posted Tuesday on X.
“If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known,” Ackman said.
Mairead Elordi contributed to this report.
