Birzeit University

The Dark Relationship Between U.S. Universities And An Anti-American School Controlled By Terrorists

Gaza

Georgetown University

Hamas

Harvard

Israel

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Rutgers University

The <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/11/25/oved-president-harvard-republican-club-never-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original version</a> of this article ran in The Harvard Crimson on November 25, 2024. Republished with permission.
* * *
That just <a href="https://features.thecrimson.com/2021/freshman-survey/lifestyle-narrative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5.2 percent of my class</a> at Harvard admits to being Republican is no secret — it was the statistic published in The Crimson’s annual incoming freshman survey for the Class of 2025. But the fact that many of the remaining 94.8 percent actively try to ostracize and dissociate from conservatives on campus — while also not a secret — is vastly more disturbing.
In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s resounding victory on November 5, students took to social media platforms like Sidechat, an anonymous social media platform, to lambast their peers who simply voted for Trump.
“No matter who wins tonight, the fact that so many vote for Trump is f*cking terrifying,” read one post, which was upvoted by 407 Harvard students. Other students called conservatives at Harvard “freaks,” “misogynists,” “fascists,” and the “stupidest people on campus.” Some even told them to “unenroll please, it’s frankly embarrassing.” Most damning was a post which read “Accept the consequences of your beliefs. Want lower taxes, take social alienation.”
Notwithstanding these petty efforts to undermine and intimidate campus Republicans into suppressing their viewpoints, as president of the Harvard Republican Club, I can state unequivocally that it has never been a better time to be a Republican on campus.
Since my election as HRC President just one year ago, our student mailing list has grown exponentially from 100 to over 800 — more than 10 percent of Harvard’s student body. We’ve rolled out a <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/8/iop-launches-conservative-mentorship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">career mentorship program</a> and an Alumni Advisory Board, we’ve significantly increased the number of events hosted, and we’ve dramatically increased the average attendees at these events over seven-fold from less than 20 to almost 150.
This rapid success is due, in no small part, to the HRC hosting a wide array of high-profile speakers who espouse views across the conservative ideological spectrum — from businessmen like PayPal co-founder Peter A. Thiel and <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/10/30/palantir-ceo-republican-club/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale</a> to former ambassadors like <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/11/8/trevor-traina-harvard-republicans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevor Traina</a>, think tank leaders like Heritage Foundation President Kevin D. Roberts, former governors like Asa Hutchinson, former Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf, and Cabinet nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’76.
While I may not agree with every mentor or speaker’s opinion, their diverse perspectives and ideas reflect the broad, open-minded, and welcoming organization the HRC has built over the past year.
It was a similarly broad coalition that propelled Trump, whom we proudly <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/7/2/harvard-republican-club-donald-trump-endorsement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed in July</a>, to a spectacularly decisive victory — a group of people with varied ideas about America’s future united behind their Republican identity.
Of course, the success of any political movement hinges on engaging others who may not agree with a cause, convincing them to ultimately view it positively.
This is particularly true at Harvard, where some of my peers have likely never actually engaged with a conservative. From their first year on campus, many often self-isolate into groups that reinforce their opinions. These students’ perceptions of conservatives are borne exclusively from what their media of choice feeds them, and thus our purportedly “educated” student body blindly associates Republicans with every negative “ism” they have been taught to embrace.
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Over the past year, the HRC has seen a record number of self-identified Democrats attend our events and use our resources. We’ve facilitated important conversations across party lines (including a debate between Republicans and Democrats at Visitas) and brought a diverse set of perspectives to those who sought them out.
Our success — like the national Republican Party’s success — is contingent on a diverse coalition only possible when we embrace heterogenous opinions and allow for robust conversations. Just look at Trump’s new Cabinet: It includes many former Democrats, including Kennedy and Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii). Those surprised by Trump’s victory earlier this month might assume that Republican life at Harvard is dead. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Our events are more than well attended, our speakers top-tier, and our energy through the roof. And perhaps most importantly, many Republicans are willing to openly embrace their values on campus, despite the aforementioned social media posts.
I encourage those interested in stepping out of their comfort zone and challenging their preconceived notions about conservatives to take advantage of the movement we’ve built. Instead of attempts at name-calling, intimidation, and ostracization, seek out Republicans. Listen to what they believe. Heck, even argue with them if you want. But at least engage with their ideas on a meaningful level. You might just learn something.
* * *
Michael Oved ’25, an Economics concentrator in Adams house, is president of the Harvard Republican Club, and chair of the Conservative Coalition at the Institute of Politics.
The <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/11/25/oved-president-harvard-republican-club-never-better/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original version</a> of this article ran in The Harvard Crimson on November 25, 2024. Republished with permission.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Harvard University

I’m President Of The Harvard Republican Club. Being Republican At Harvard Has Never Been Better.

American Universities

College

Conservatives

Gen Z

Ivy League

Opinion

Republicans

Students

Harvard University&#8217;s Republican Club has had a sharp spike in signups, something that the group’s president credits to the members being proud of their beliefs and hosting large events.
Harvard Republican Club President Michael Oved said the “historic number” of signups includes over 100 freshmen and 30 other students who joined at the start of the semester, quadrupling the number of signups last year for the club that previously had just 40 to 50 active members.
“Harvard Republicans are thriving, something that couldn’t happen four years ago,” Oved told The Daily Wire. “We no longer hide our Republican views, we embrace them. We wear it on our sleeves, proudly and people see that, and they become encouraged to do the same.”
The increase in the club’s membership comes as the Ivy League school is embroiled in controversy due to the administration’s and left-wing student groups&#8217; reaction to Hamas&#8217;s October 7 brutal attack on Israeli civilians.
“My vision for the Club when I got elected was to encourage students’ involvement via high profile events, and it’s been a huge success,” Oved said. “Beyond that, we’ve made an active effort to recruit new students into the club.” 
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726335985188000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2EEoBN89NIvxoagR9mAUsg">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
Oved said his strategy includes hosting high-profile speakers to draw crowds and motivate his current members. Last year the group brought businessman Peter Thiel, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, former Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Reps. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and Moms for Liberty Founder Tiffany Justice.
Thiel spoke during the first annual “Conservative and Republican Student Conference” which was hosted by a new joint organization of conservative clubs from across the university — including Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Kennedy School — in partnership with The Harvard Salient and College Republicans.
This semester, the group has events planned with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, former U.S. Ambassador to Austria Trevor Traina, former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, and others.
Oved said they purposely choose speakers with a wide variety of political opinions that may differ from club members. Each speaker “brings something new to the conversation” and helps them “understand the world and politics.”
The group&#8217;s Tuesday night presidential debate watch party was also a huge success, with a “historic number and unprecedented in the history of the club.” With around 200 students flowing in and out of the crowded room throughout the night, Oved noted that many had to sit on the stairs and floor to find space.
“Four and eight years ago, it would not have been possible to gather 200 Republicans in one room at Harvard,” Oved said. “The Republican club on campus was dead after the 2016 elections.”
The group now has 950 students on their email list, up from 125 from last year, according to Oved, who is involved in a number of other conservative groups on campus.
“Under my leadership, it has become cool once again to be a Republican,” Oved said. “And my hope is that this is only the beginning.”
According to The Salient, Harvard&#8217;s conservative student publication, only 7.4 percent of students identify as conservative, while 72.4 percent lean liberal. The Salient itself has been gaining momentum with over 30 new writers since its 2021 relaunch.
The Harvard Republican Club’s board endorsed former president Donald Trump on July 1 — after his debate with President Joe Biden — in a <a href="https://harvardrepublicanclub.org/endorsements/">lengthy statement</a> that praised Trump’s record on the economy, immigration, the Second Amendment, energy, foreign policy, crime, and judiciary. 
“We look forward to seeing him back in the White House, where he can Make America Great Again,” the group wrote. 
In 2016, the club&#8217;s members declined to support Trump, but by 2020, the club officially endorsed him, according to <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/9/30/harvard-republicans-endorse-trump/">The Harvard Crimson.</a>

Cover images

Harvard Republican Club Says Enrollment Is Booming As Members Proudly Share Beliefs

Anti-Semitism

A recent Harvard graduate suing the school for enabling antisemitism received thunderous applause at the Republican National Convention Wednesday evening as he condemned the radicalism that has swept the Ivy League university and campuses across the country.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, who graduated from Harvard Divinity School this spring, recounted his unexpected journey to the frontlines of the fight against antisemitism after Hamas massacred more than 1,000 Israelis on October 7.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
JUST NOW: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShabbosK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShabbosK</a> received a huge applause at the RNC when he announced that he is the &#8220;proud plaintiff suing Harvard University for its failure to combat antisemitism.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/5NudRDqQRP">pic.twitter.com/5NudRDqQRP</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyDillon) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyDillon/status/1813757247488675936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
“When I planted 1,200 Israeli and American flags on campus, they were all vandalized within 24 hours,” Kestenbaum said. “I was harassed by my peers merely for being a Jew, and have received death threats online.”
Kestenbaum recalled how Harvard &#8220;students and professors have openly called for Hamas-style attacks against the United States.&#8221; Eventually, he said he realized that he was immersed in a culture “that is anti-Western, anti-American, and anti-Semitic.” 
Although he registered as a Democrat when he turned 18 and once voted for Bernie Sanders, Kestenbaum said the Democratic Party has become “ideologically poisoned.” 
“I now recognize that the far left has abandoned not only the Jewish people, but the American people,” Kestenbaum said. “This corruption&#8230;is infecting too many young American students.”
Kestenbaum encouraged the crowd to vote for a president who will “instill patriotism in our schools,&#8221; &#8220;confront terrorism and its supporters,&#8221; and one who understands that &#8220;Jewish values are American values, and American values are Jewish values.”
Kestenbaum told The Daily Wire shortly before his speech that he was nervous but excited to address “tens of thousands of patriots, including the former President of the United States,” Donald Trump.
<div id="attachment_732725" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-732725" class="size-large wp-image-732725" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Cover-images-23-1024x576.png" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Cover-images-23-1024x576.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Cover-images-23-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Cover-images-23-768x432.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/05/Cover-images-23.png 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Shabbos Kestenbaum entering MIT&#8217;s anti-Israel encampment on May 3, 2024. (Photo: Kassy Akiva/The Daily Wire)</div>
His peers were less than enthusiastic when his speech was announced, but Kestenbaum said they helped make it happen.
“Given that 97 percent of Harvard faculty identify as liberal, it is no surprise that my classmates are condemning my participation at the Republican convention,” he said. “I’d like to remind them that had they not insisted on supporting terrorism, vandalizing American flags, and harassing Jewish students, I wouldn’t have to be here.”
Kestenbaum is one of several student plaintiffs who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jewish-students-sue-harvard-for-failing-to-stop-anti-semitism-while-threatening-discipline-for-fatphobia">sued Harvard</a> in January for enabling antisemitism and selectively enforcing its policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment.
The lawsuit describes the on-campus response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack: mobs occupying buildings, promoting violence, and assaulting Jews. It also accuses the administration and professors of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-harvard-students-chant-palestine-is-arab-during-on-campus-protest">promulgating antisemitism</a> and dismissing concerns from Jewish students.
“Harvard, America’s leading university, has become a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment,” the lawsuit states. “Mobs of pro-Hamas students and faculty have marched by the hundreds through Harvard’s campus, shouting vile antisemitic slogans and calling for death to Jews and Israel.”
A Harvard employee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-employee-harasses-jewish-student-suing-school-for-anti-semitism-asks-to-debate-9-11-conspiracies">harassed Kestenbaum</a> in January, challenging him to debate antisemitic conspiracy theories about 9/11 and posting a video of himself talking about Kestenbaum while waving a toy machete. Harvard took more than three months to terminate the employee, a financial and systems coordinator for the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Anti-Israel protester at MIT: &#8220;Respectfully, we do not trust your intentions.&#8221;
Jewish student: &#8220;Respectfully, f*** off!&#8221;
Watch a Jewish student fight to enter MIT&#8217;s anti-Israel encampment. Police eventually agree to give him an escort. <a href="https://t.co/lKeXr829TW">pic.twitter.com/lKeXr829TW</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1786513699903008780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
In May, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jewish-student-needs-police-escort-to-enter-mit-anti-israel-encampment">Kestenbaum visited</a> Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s anti-Israel encampment, where he was initially denied entry until he was provided a police escort. In a Daily Wire video, Kestenbaum is seen entering the video with police and standing up to the protesters. 
“I want to let all of you know that you’re not going to intimidate Jewish people,” he told the campers. “You can hide behind your masks as long as you want, we will not be scared.”
“All of you should be ashamed of yourselves,” he added. “This is the state of being Jewish in America, I need police to exercise my First Amendment right.”

Cover images-7

Jewish Harvard Grad Who Faced Harassment on Campus Addresses RNC to Thunderous Applause

Donald Trump

Republican National Convention

The Harvard Corporation broke with the university&#8217;s faculty on Wednesday, and voted to deny thirteen seniors from graduating on Thursday because they broke university rules by participating in the 20-day long anti-Israel encampment.
Despite the faculty group overwhelmingly voting to confer the degrees to the anti-Israel students, the Corporation cited the student handbook rules requiring good standing for graduation in their decision.
“Today, we have voted to confer 1,539 degrees to Harvard College students in good standing,” the Corporation wrote in a statement on Wednesday, <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/22/harvard-corporation-overrides-faculty-vote-disciplined-seniors/">according to the Harvard Crimson</a>. “Because the students included as the result of Monday’s amendment are not in good standing, we cannot responsibly vote to award them degrees at this time.”
The Corporation is the university&#8217;s highest governing body and consists of 13 members, including Harvard&#8217;s interim president, Alan Garber. The annual Faculty of Arts and Sciences is a sparsely attended meeting where faculty vote to approve the list of degrees for conferral, according to the Crimson.
Student Shraddha Joshi <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C7SNiMhhKHA/?img_index=1">posted an email on her Instagram</a> that informed her that she would not be graduating this spring. 
“Because of your probation, you are not a student in good standing under the express provisions of the Harvard College Student Handbook, and as a result, the Corporation did not vote to confer your degree,” it states. 
Joshi is a co-organizer of the October statement blaming Hamas’s terror attack on Israel, according to <a href="https://canarymission.org/individual/Shraddha_Joshi">Canary Mission</a>.
Although during the meeting members made the case that they had the authority to allow the students to graduate and approve disciplinary actions, the Corporation disagreed that this power applied in this situation.
“We respect each faculty’s responsibility to determine appropriate discipline for its students,” the Corporation wrote. “Monday’s faculty vote did not, however, revisit these disciplinary rulings, did not purport to engage in the individualized assessment of each case that would ordinarily be required to do so, and, most importantly, did not claim to restore the students to good standing.”
The Corporation also mentioned concerns about the precedent breaking the handbook rules could set. 
“We also considered the inequity of exempting a particular group of students who are not in good standing from established rules, while other seniors with similar status for matters unrelated to Monday’s faculty amendment would be unable to graduate,” the Corporation wrote.
The 20-day encampment drew criticism from many Harvard affiliates including Garber himself who said the protesters were disruptive, caused events and exams to move, and had situations where people were harassed and followed. 
“The encampment favors the voices of a few over the rights of many who have experienced disruption in how they learn and work at a critical time of the semester,” Garber <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2024/encampment-in-harvard-yard/">wrote</a> in a May 6 statement threatening suspension. “I call on those participating in the encampment to end the occupation of Harvard Yard.”
The encampment ended last week after administrators negotiated with the anti-Israel students, reportedly agreeing to be lenient to those facing disciplinary action and allowing them to meet with governing boards about divesting from Israel.
On Friday, the Harvard College Administrative Board suspended five students and placed more than 20 more on probation, according to the Crimson.

US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-PROTEST

Harvard Corporation Breaks With Faculty, Votes To Block 13 Anti-Israel Encampment Protesters From Graduating

More than 500 Harvard University students, faculty, alumni, and other affiliates have now signed onto a letter urging action against escalating anti-Semitism on campus.
Sent to interim Harvard President Alan Garber Tuesday, the letter <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQMG4ov0gPaHArc_bEGWX1qBKCbUVhDt5F1z55W59PUlS84oV4vi98kLCfZFrKn6pSJN2GLV6tXByUt/pub">calls for</a> “significant consequences” for the leaders of the 20-day anti-Israel encampment in Harvard Yard.
“While some have tried to associate the encampment with the long history of protests on Harvard&#8217;s campus, this one is distinct for its calls for violence and its active and targeted disruption of the lives of an identifiable group of minority students,” the letter states. Signatures are still being collected.
The letter comes after members of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences overwhelmingly voted to allow 13 students to graduate despite their suspension or probation for participating in the encampment. The Harvard Corporation broke with the faculty on Wednesday and <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/22/harvard-corporation-overrides-faculty-vote-disciplined-seniors/">declined</a> to give the degrees.
The letter claims students documented “numerous instances of inappropriate and egregious conduct, including harassment, denial of equal access to common areas on Harvard property, and threats of violence towards Jewish and Israeli students or their allies.”
Some Jewish and Israeli members of the Harvard community avoided walking through Harvard Yard to avoid anti-Semitism, and first-year students have complained that they have been unable to focus on their studies because of the disrupters, according to the letter.
“Some took extended breaks from campus before the end of the spring semester because they felt unsafe,” the letter states.
The encampment ended last week after the university negotiated with the protesters, reportedly agreeing to leniency for those facing disciplinary action and allowing encampment leaders to meet with governing boards about divesting from Israel.
The letter expresses disappointment over several professors&#8217; participation in the protest, accusing them of creating a hostile learning environment. 
“The involvement of Harvard faculty in these encampments, endorsing and sometimes leading teach-ins and chants, has created an unsafe learning environment for many Jews and Israelis,” the letter states. “This not only contradicts Harvard&#8217;s commitment to an inclusive educational experience but also emboldens extremist elements within our student body.”
During the encampment, Harvard Yard was largely restricted to university affiliates until a community member used bolt cutters to open a gate and allow 150 protesters onto campus, <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/13/breached-lock-protest-harvard-police/">according to campus police</a>. The letter describes this situation as a “severe escalation” that risked a crisis by bringing outside agitators onto campus.
Complaints were also raised regarding the encampments&#8217; so-called “marshalls” — students in yellow vests claiming they are ensuring people&#8217;s safety.
“Additionally, self-appointed encampment &#8216;marshals&#8217; in Harvard Yard have been stalking people who appear to be Jewish, speak Hebrew, or simply speak to other people who look Jewish,” the letter states.
Although Garber condemned intimidation and harassment from the encampment earlier this month, the letter states that the “galling acts” continued. 
“[T]he actions that culminated in the 20-day occupation of Harvard Yard have been poisoned by dehumanizing rhetoric and calls to violence against Jewish and Israeli individuals,” the letter states. “In addition, they have chanted for the ethnic cleansing of Israelis, and for violence against Jews. And they have held signs declaring ‘from the water to the water, Palestine will be Arab,’ along with large maps depicting the entire State of Israel as an imagined “Arab Palestine.” 
The letter also describes a “chilling” protest on Sunday outside of Garber’s home.
“For those of us who witnessed the march to your house on 5/19/24, the experience was particularly terrifying. President Garber, over 200 people stood outside your home, the residence of a Jewish family, and chanted &#8216;globalize the Intifada&#8217; and &#8216;Intifada coming to America&#8217;. The scene was chilling.&#8221;
The letter states that Garber&#8217;s current punishment of students is not enough, and accuses the university of rewarding their behavior with meetings while not giving the same to pro-Israel students.
“Not only have the consequences for these encampers been insufficient, they have actually been rewarded for their blatant disregard of Harvard policy,” the letter states. “According to the Crimson, in exchange for ending their illegal encampment, HOOP members were offered a meeting with at least one member of the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility.”
Other demands in the letter include that the university publicly condemn anti-Semitism, enhance its investigative process, and enforce penalties.
Nearly 500 Harvard affiliates — including 350 faculty members — <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/22/open-letter-condemn-antisemitism-encampment/">signed onto</a> a letter Monday condemning the disciplinary action taken against the anti-Israel encampment protesters.

Harvard Yard

Letter From Harvard Community Calling For Encampment Protesters To Face ‘Significant Consequences’ Passes 500 Signatures

Harvard University failed to implement recommendations that it was presented with from an anti-Semitism group that it created following Hamas&#8217; October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
The <a href="https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/5.15.24_harvard_committee_report_final.pdf">investigation</a> from the House Education and the Workforce Committee started several months later when it subpoenaed the school.
Harvard President Claudine Gay <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/10/30/gay-hillel-speech/">announced</a> in late October that she had created the Antisemitism Advisory Group (AAG) to &#8220;combat antisemitism in our community.&#8221;
However, even though she attended most of the meetings that the group held, very little was ever done to implement the group&#8217;s recommendations for how to make the campus safer.
“The Committee’s report proves that former President Gay and Harvard’s leadership propped up the university’s Antisemitism Advisory Group all for show,” said Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC). “Not only did the AAG find that antisemitism was a major issue on campus, it offered several recommendations on how to combat the problem — none of which were ever implemented with any real vigor. This shocking revelation reveals an inner look at how dysfunctional Harvard’s administration is and the deep-seated moral rot that clouds its judgement.”
The report said that the AAG found that anti-Semitic harassment was a significant problem on campus and that most of its members threatened to resign over Gay&#8217;s inaction on their findings.
The following were among the recommendations that the group presented to the school:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Having “zero tolerance” for classroom disruptions;</li>
<li>Protecting shared learning environments;</li>
<li>Holding student organizations accountable for adhering to University rules;</li>
<li>Countering antisemitic speech;</li>
<li>Reviewing the academic rigor of classes and programs with antisemitic content;</li>
<li>Reviewing Harvard’s Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging’s (OEDIB) inadequacy in addressing antisemitism; and</li>
<li>Increasing intellectual diversity; and</li>
<li>Investigating the potential influence of “dark money” from Iran, Qatar, and associates of terrorist groups on campus.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
The group advised the school&#8217;s leadership that they also needed to address the prevalence of anti-Semitic protesters wearing masks to hide their identities during some of the more obscene incidents that happened on campus.

Claudine Gay

Congressional Investigation Finds Harvard Ignored Warnings From Anti-Semitism Advisory Group It Created

Congress

Harvard Univeristy

The Palestine Solidarity Committee at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/harvard-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harvard University</a> was suspended from campus activities – and responded to that suspension by setting up a &#8220;Gaza solidarity encampment&#8221; in defiance of the school administration.
The official X account for National Students for Justice in Palestine shared video of the student protesters swarming Harvard Yard — which was roped off in advance of protests that took place over the weekend.
&#8220;Incredible video from @HarvardPSC,&#8221; the caption read. &#8220;Just yesterday, Harvard University placed the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) under suspension. Less than 24 hours later, students launched a Gaza solidarity encampment. THE MORE THEY TRY TO SILENCE US THE LOUDER WE WILL BE.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Incredible video from @HarvardPSC 
Just yesterday, Harvard University placed the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) under suspension. Less than 24 hours later, students launched a Gaza solidarity encampment. 
THE MORE THEY TRY TO SILENCE US THE LOUDER WE WILL BE <a href="https://t.co/SnWTuiAan7">pic.twitter.com/SnWTuiAan7</a>
&mdash; National Students for Justice in Palestine (@NationalSJP) <a href="https://twitter.com/NationalSJP/status/1783188086974734457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The group, according to <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/23/harvard-psc-suspended/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Harvard Crimson</a>, had been ordered as of Monday to &#8220;cease all organizational activities for the remainder of the Spring 2024 term,&#8221; and students who defied that order were reportedly threatened with possible expulsion.
The PSC had been placed on probation in March, The Crimson reported, adding that school administrators had gone through with the suspension after the group had failed to &#8220;register&#8221; a Friday protest and had &#8220;violated protest guidelines regarding responsible use of space.&#8221;
&#8220;The organization will not be recognized and will not have access to university benefits and services during this time, including but not limited to use of campus space and appropriate use of the Harvard name,&#8221; the email informing the PSC of their suspension stated. &#8220;If the organization continues to operate and commits additional violations during this suspension, the organization risks permanent expulsion, as provided in the Resource Guide.&#8221;
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The PSC released a statement in response to the suspension, claiming that they had endured &#8220;months of administrative repression, harassment and stalking by our own peers, and intimidation from right-wing politicians and donors.&#8221;
&#8220;After standing idly by as pro-Palestine students faced physical and cyber harassment, death threats and rape threats, and racist doxxing, Harvard has now decided to dismantle the only official student group dedicated to the task of representing the Palestinian cause,&#8221; the group complained.

Pro-Hamas Group Launches Gaza Encampment After Harvard Suspends Them

Education

Protests

U.S.

The Daily Wire caught up with policy analyst and author Carrie Sheffield to talk with her about her new book &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Motorhome-Prophecies-Journey-Healing-Forgiveness/dp/1546004386/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1MCPY1LY9G6BK&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U6jLnuG0UcJjuJ69YTShvcQr6Ezo_ux8egpxy3_tX0obBqozBXOQNMUa7_8fEazolWcS-NOWXGIsih85r2eeNz9V1jGTrnR4mSUZ_fIVhexCclFVtHgIjULyOD7pCboqgN_6orCmPsl-M5S082BZjA.v0WeUS8vwaUdtnuSzFCJH91q6PUV9wLYp4UlOmSaUR0&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=motorhome+prophecies&amp;qid=1713538529&amp;sprefix=motorhome%2Caps%2C93&amp;sr=8-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness,</a>&#8221; (CenterStreet/Hachette Book Group).
DW: Let’s start with politics. You’ve served as a policy analyst and columnist for several years now, both in New York and in Washington. Which issues are paramount in your mind as we head into the 2024 presidential election season?
Sheffield: Certainly the economy and immigration are top of mind for many voters, including me. The fact that inflation has ravaged household wages is an ongoing and pervasive problem. The fact that average monthly mortgage payments under Biden have skyrocketed means real pain and the dream of home ownership moves out of reach for more American families. Seeing our border towns and cities like New York and Chicago overrun with sanitation issues and safety problems due to Biden’s failed immigration policies is discouraging and must be stopped.
DW: Speaking of presidents, in “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Motorhome-Prophecies-Journey-Healing-Forgiveness/dp/1546004386/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1MCPY1LY9G6BK&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U6jLnuG0UcJjuJ69YTShvcQr6Ezo_ux8egpxy3_tX0obBqozBXOQNMUa7_8fEazolWcS-NOWXGIsih85r2eeNz9V1jGTrnR4mSUZ_fIVhexCclFVtHgIjULyOD7pCboqgN_6orCmPsl-M5S082BZjA.v0WeUS8vwaUdtnuSzFCJH91q6PUV9wLYp4UlOmSaUR0&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=motorhome+prophecies&amp;qid=1713538529&amp;sprefix=motorhome%2Caps%2C93&amp;sr=8-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Motorhome Prophecies</a>” you write that your father was convinced he was a Mormon prophet destined to become president of the United States. Looking back, how did that influence the way your family lived?
Sheffield: Yes, my dad claimed that he’d be U.S. president one day. He also made some unproven claims, like President Reagan designating MLK Jr. Day because of my dad’s work supporting Dr. King’s messages and that his political essays influenced then-Speaker Newt Gingrich to impeach Bill Clinton.
Politics was in my dad’s blood because his father had been a successful Utah state lawmaker. He was also former chairman of the Salt Lake City Zoning and Planning Commission for 25 years. That his firstborn son would follow him into politics wasn’t too far-fetched.
My dad’s beliefs about his destiny absolutely motivated our nationwide travels in a street musical orchestra attracting listeners and then passing out patriotic and religious brochures. But the proselytizing came at an expensive price — his kids’ mental health and happiness. Multiple siblings have attempted suicide, two developed schizophrenia (it’s well documented that schizophrenia’s onset is exacerbated by childhood trauma), and I struggled with periodic suicidal ideation, depression, PTSD, and anxiety because of our dad’s zealotry.
Despite the negative aspects, dad gave me a deep love of our exceptional country, of intellectual inquiry, and beautiful music. Though we’ve had many disagreements, I know in his heart he has a deep desire to serve others through his work. I think his love of country in some ways blinded him to his personal life’s failures. That is a common fatal flaw for public servants. Children of politicians often experience abandonment problems as adults. Each generation must recognize and heal our own hurts.
<div id="attachment_726119" style="width: 391px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-726119" class="size-large wp-image-726119" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-381x576.webp" alt="CenterStreet/Hachette book Group" width="381" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-381x576.webp 381w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-199x300.webp 199w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-768x1160.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-1017x1536.webp 1017w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-1356x2048.webp 1356w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/9781546004387-scaled.webp 1695w" sizes="(max-width: 381px) 100vw, 381px" />CenterStreet/Hachette book Group</div>
DW: “Motorhome Prophecies” is written in the vein of famous memoirs like “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance, “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls, and “Educated” by Tara Westover, all stories of young Americans growing up in very broken families. Yet each author is somehow able to escape and overcome their childhood trauma and find success as an adult. What were some factors that helped you overcome your childhood?
Sheffield: Necessity is the mother of invention. I knew that if I wanted a better life than the dark, dangerous one around me I needed to be resourceful, pragmatic and humble enough to ask for help. The bravest thing I&#8217;ve done took place when I was 18. In terms of the initial departure, here&#8217;s a passage from the book, it was actually my schizophrenic brother&#8217;s sexual assault and attempted rape that spurred me to start the process of leaving:
<blockquote>It would prove a long winding path, but Peter’s assault eventually became a catalyst for me to scrutinize my faith, to pray for God’s protection and guidance, and, eventually, to reject Ralph’s false prophecies and run away from home. I’m the fifth oldest sibling, but I was the first to escape the clutches of The Mission. That harrowing night back in 2000 taught me a lesson that would be reinforced time and again: life’s most wrenching crucibles can propel us to our greatest moments of growth and freedom.</blockquote>
I pushed myself to achieve in my career and work in public policy because I wanted a better life for myself than remaining trapped in a violent and impoverished environment. Also, as a woman, I wanted to bask in the freedoms denied my mother and myself as the first girl with four older brothers.
Early on, I also felt a sense of jaded insecurity that fueled my ambition. I wanted to prove my dad wrong. He prophesied that I&#8217;d be raped and murdered if I left the cult. I decided I&#8217;d soar to career heights surpassing his own. It’s a toxic, unstable motivation, to prove someone wrong, and it eventually comes crashing down.
Another reason I left was that I&#8217;d undertaken a long-term investigation into my dad and found his handwritten prophecies were in direct opposition to the teachings of the official LDS Church&#8217;s hierarchy.
For many years I struggled. I would paint myself in these absolutist black and white terms, that my dad was evil and that I was a hero for escaping. Today, though, I know I am not the hero of this book, but I am also not the villain. God is the hero, and though I thought my father was the villain, I now see he was crushed by severe religious zealotry sparked by mental illness after suffering sexual assault as a toddler. He also suffered through the death of his childhood best friend which led to enduring isolation. He’s just as deserving of God’s mercy and compassion as I am. I love my father and am sorry I waited so long to forgive him. I believe forgiving him earlier would have stopped me from some toxic self-sabotaging that I did to cope with the trauma.
<div id="attachment_726171" style="width: 490px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-726171" class="size-large wp-image-726171" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Carrie-Sheffield-1-scaled-1-480x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Carrie Sheffield." width="480" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Carrie-Sheffield-1-scaled-1-480x576.jpg 480w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Carrie-Sheffield-1-scaled-1-250x300.jpg 250w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Carrie-Sheffield-1-scaled-1-768x921.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Carrie-Sheffield-1-scaled-1-1280x1536.jpg 1280w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Carrie-Sheffield-1-scaled-1-1707x2048.jpg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px" />Credit: Carrie Sheffield.</div>
DW: Your book deals a lot with mental illness. Authors like Abigail Shrier and Jonathan Haidt have also written books this year on young people struggling with mental illness. It seems to be a growing problem. Why do you think it&#8217;s a common thread and what are the broader takeaways found in &#8220;Motorhome Prophecies”?
Sheffield: Certainly depression and suicide are rising, and this is troubling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last year released <a href="https://thedispatch.acemlna.com/lt.php?s=b497b0dace4b29102719b273346a3dbb&amp;i=2147A2461A1A75103" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provisional data</a> showing nearly 50,000 people committed suicide in the United States in 2022. This nearly 3% increase from 2021 is the highest number ever recorded and the highest rate since 1941 — the aftershocks of the Great Depression. It’s nearly 17 times the number of people killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Gen Z is far more secular than their parents were when they were young, and I think it’s no coincidence Gen Z is also suffering far greater isolation and mental illness. This is a trend we can and must reverse. People who attend religious services at least weekly are significantly less likely to die “deaths of despair”— suicide, drug overdose, or alcohol poisoning, <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/regularly-attending-religious-services-associated-with-lower-risk-of-deaths-of-despair/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to 2020 research</a> from Harvard University’s School of Public Health. A literature review appearing in Psychiatric Times <a href="https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/religion-spirituality-and-mental-health">reported</a>: “Of 93 observational studies, two-thirds found lower rates of depressive disorder with fewer depressive symptoms in persons who were more religious. … a review of 134 studies that examined the relationships between religious involvement and substance abuse [concluded that] 90% found less substance abuse among the more religious.”
Ironically, research from the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-50618-001">Psychology of Religion and Spirituality</a> found atheism correlates with <a href="https://www.psypost.org/new-psychological-research-links-atheism-to-emotional-suppression/">emotional suppression</a>. Psychology professors (along with biologists) are least likely among all disciplines to believe in God, <a href="https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2007/07/faculty-faith-html#:~:text=A%20professor's%20field%20of%20research,%2C%20economists%2C%20and%20political%20scientists.">Harvard reported.</a> The journal Sociology of Religion <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/epiphenom/2009/05/psychologists-are-least-religious-of.html">similarly found</a> that psychologists are the least religious of American professors. This is a troubling combination. The same trained experts ordained to heal mental disorders are sometimes the very ones who are skeptical of rescuing balm.
A recovered agnostic, I experienced the power of faith to heal my own mental health, as I recount in my book. The biggest hurdle I needed to overcome was comprehending the difference between man-made abuse and healthy faith in God.
DW: Eventually you went to college and ended up at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. How did your worldview change while in Cambridge?
Sheffield: I became more aware of the narratives around “privilege” being crafted at places like Harvard. I gained a sense of understanding perhaps their altruistic impulse — indeed, our country had sexism, slavery, and Jim Crow as stains in our history. But eventually, I came to realize that good intentions do not equal good outcomes.
At Harvard, I also became more entrenched as an agnostic, which is sad because Harvard was founded to help clergy grow their intellectual capacity to teach the mind of God. Around 7 years after I graduated, during my Christian conversion process, the more I studied science, including metaphysics, history, anthropology, and other disciplines, the more my faith in God and my confidence in Christianity grew. Studying Christianity felt like uncovering buried treasure discarded by intellectuals at places like Harvard who had discounted its scientific and philosophical heft.
DW: You’ve written many articles over the years for various periodicals, but this is your first time writing a full-length book. What was the process like for you?
Sheffield: Writing a 90,000 word book is indeed a far heavier lift than a news article. I tell people who ask advice for writing a memoir to begin a journal today if they don’t already. This memoir genre was made far easier for me because I’ve got a stack of journals to assist. I’ve kept a journal since age 8 because journaling is strongly encouraged in the LDS Church and Mormon diaspora community due to strong cultural appreciation of genealogy and family history — the LDS Church has more than 2 billion records in its genealogy database. Also, as a newer faith, we know many things about its early origins due to contemporaneous journals. As a journalist, the personal journals made the process far easier for accuracy — I didn’t have to make up what I was thinking, I knew directly.

Camper Touring the American Southwest Monument Valley

Author Carrie Sheffield Recounts Harrowing Childhood In New Book ‘Motorhome Prophecies’

Author Carrie Sheffield Recounts Harrowing Childhood In New Book 'Motorhome Prophecies'

Books

family

interview

Mental Illness

Mormonism

Psychology

Readers Pass

Sexual Assault

In a sudden reversal, Harvard College will reinstate its standardized testing requirement, meaning students will once again have to take the SAT or ACT to be accepted.
The surprise decision <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/11/harvard-sat-act-admissions-requirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comes</a> after Harvard previously said it would remain test-optional through the class of 2030. The Ivy League school first introduced the test-optional policy during the pandemic.
The new policy means any undergraduate applicants who were not planning on taking a test may have to work quickly to get their tests scheduled before the application deadlines later this year.
“Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond,” Harvard&#8217;s Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi Hoekstra said in a <a href="https://www.fas.harvard.edu/2024/04/11/return-to-required-testing/">statement</a>.
“More information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range,” Hoekstra said. “With this change, we hope to strengthen our ability to identify these promising students.”
The decision also comes after several other Ivy League universities, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown brought back their testing requirement as well. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology also <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/stuart-schmill-sat-act-requirement-0328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reinstated</a> its standardized test requirement back in 2022.
At least two Ivy Leagues, however, have <a href="https://admissions.cornell.edu/policies/standardized-testing-policy#:~:text=Cornell%20University%20Extends%20Test%2DOptional,SAT%20or%20ACT%20exam%20scores." target="_blank" rel="noopener">extended</a> their test-optional policy — Cornell and Columbia, which said its new policy is <a href="https://www.highereddive.com/news/columbia-university-becomes-first-ivy-league-institution-to-go-permanently/643947/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">permanent</a>.
Despite optional testing, the majority of Harvard undergrads have submitted standardized test scores anyway, the school said.
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In announcing the new testing policy, Harvard referenced a Harvard-affiliated study that found SAT scores are a stronger predictor of college success than a high school student&#8217;s grade point average.
After COVID restrictions were lifted, Ivy League schools were criticized for extending the suspension of their test requirement. At the same time, others praised the move saying it could help more minorities get accepted to prestigious schools.
The argument that standardized testing hurts minority students has become more popular in recent years.
In 2020, the entire 10-school University of California system <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-board-regents-unanimously-approved-changes-standardized-testing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to permanently get rid of standardized tests. The move came after a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/sat-act-uc-lawsuit.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> from students claiming the tests are racist and biased against disabled students. New York University, George Washington University, and University of Chicago have also joined the ranks of those that <a href="https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/colleges-that-dont-require-sat-or-act/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allow</a> students to skip the tests.
However, others argue the tests actually help minority students.
Harvard economist David Deming, one of the economists behind the Harvard study, <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/11/harvard-sat-act-admissions-requirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the tests are the “fairest admissions policy for disadvantaged applicants.”
“Not everyone can hire an expensive college coach to help them craft a personal essay. But everyone has the chance to ace the SAT or the ACT,” Deming said.

pencil and eraser on test answer sheet, with question booklet

Harvard Reverses Course, Will Require Standardized Testing Again

Testing

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elise-stefanik" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elise Stefanik</a> (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 <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/04.11.24-Letter-to-Harvard435287.pdf">letter</a> 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&#8217;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 &#8216;Shame! Shame! Shame!&#8217; at him.&#8221;
Following the incident, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce — of which Stefanik is a member — obtained <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/20240322-March-Letter-to-Katya-Jestin_Redacted31865627.pdf">documents</a> 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&#8217;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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elise-stefanik-harvard-president-claudine-gays-resignation-was-long-overdue">December interaction</a> 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-employee-harasses-jewish-student-suing-school-for-anti-semitism-asks-to-debate-9-11-conspiracies">The Daily Wire</a> 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/radical-harvard-students-set-to-skirt-bylaws-to-hold-anti-israel-referendum-vote">divestment resolutions</a>, a contractor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-harvard-employee-flips-out-after-he-was-caught-ripping-down-israeli-hostage-posters">ripping down</a> hostage posters, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/embattled-un-official-doubles-down-at-harvard-says-israel-has-no-right-to-self-defense">events with speakers</a> who justified the October 7 massacre.
This piece was updated with a statement from Harvard.

Stefanik and Harvard

Elise Stefanik Says Harvard Siding With ‘Those Who Hate Jewish Students’ In Scathing Letter

Elise Stefanik

Jews

Anti-Israel student activists at Harvard University are pushing forward with a referendum on whether the school should divest from Israel, a move that may violate rules barring the undergraduate student government from taking positions on global issues.
A petition launched on Tuesday gathered the 195 signatures needed to trigger a college-wide referendum in just three hours, according to the <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/10/divestment-petition-israel-palestine/">Harvard Crimson</a>. The undergraduate push follows <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-law-students-amend-bylaws-to-enact-secret-ballot-ahead-of-vote-to-boycott-israel">Harvard Law School</a> and Harvard Divinity School’s student governments voting to divest from the Jewish State in recent weeks.
If referendum bylaws are followed and signatures are verified, the vote will be held within three weeks and include the proposed question: “Should Harvard divest from institutions that profit from and/or aid Israel’s war on Gaza and the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine?”
Two Harvard students told The Daily Wire that the petition is a violation of the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OkwkJenKI9kRywA1fZyyjdSipJ-oiVQ-Ub-R-Z6Cflc/edit#heading=h.rhbc0bvazhl2">student government bylaws</a>, which state the Harvard Undergraduate Association can “not publish statements on world or campus issues/events.” 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-law-students-resign-from-student-govt-over-secret-ballot-anti-israel-vote">Harvard Law Students Resign From Student Govt Over Secret Ballot Anti-Israel Vote</a>
“The HUA’s bylaws, written after the previous student government body <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/4/6/cheng-resigns-uc-president/">was dissolved</a>, in part because of their willingness to issue political statements, prohibits statements on campus or world events,” a Harvard undergraduate told The Daily Wire. “Additionally, HUA resolutions can only be used ‘to set HUA policy,’ and the HUA has no policy regarding Israel or Harvard&#8217;s investment.”
The student, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from peers, added that it&#8217;s a violation of bylaws to join “political movements” and to use “leading questions.”
&#8220;Harvard leadership has made clear that it opposes calls for a policy of boycotting Israel and its academic institutions,&#8221; a Harvard spokesman said in a statement. &#8220;In the words of former President Bacow, responding to a 2022 editorial in The Harvard Crimson that had endorsed the Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement, &#8216;targeting or boycotting a particular group because of disagreements over the policies pursued by their governments is antithetical to what we stand for as a University,&#8217; and &#8216;academic boycotts have absolutely no place at Harvard, regardless of who they target.'&#8221;
The 195 signature threshold is determined by taking 10 percent of the total number of students that voted in the 2023 Harvard Undergraduate’s Association (HUA) elections, per the bylaws.
“As the university discusses institutional neutrality during a time of genocide, sign NOW to tell Harvard to divest from Israel&#8217;s war crimes against Palestinians,” the anti-Israel student group Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee wrote in an Instagram post with the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C5jO04jpyPX/?img_index=1">petition link</a>.
The post cites reporting from the Harvard Crimson, which found that <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/3/19/harvard-israel-palestine-investments/">Harvard invested</a> $200 million in companies tied to the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-accused-of-promoting-eco-terrorism-for-plans-to-screen-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-film">Harvard Accused Of Promoting Eco-Terrorism For Plans To Screen ‘How To Blow Up A Pipeline’ Film</a>
In a now-deleted post, the group expressed that all signatures will be kept secret and only known to the election commission chair Behruz Mahmadov, two administrators, and the petitioners Shraddha Joshi and Asmer Asrar Safi.
Just four days after Hamas’s deadly attack on Israeli civilians, Safi, a Rhodes Scholar, <a href="https://archive.ph/Sih4e">shared a photo</a> of a former leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ghassan Kanafani.
<div id="attachment_721537" style="width: 420px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-721537" class="size-large wp-image-721537" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-10-at-11.56.53%E2%80%AFAM-410x576.png" alt="Asmer Asrar Safi student posts picture of Ghassan Kanafani" width="410" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-10-at-11.56.53%E2%80%AFAM-410x576.png 410w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-10-at-11.56.53%E2%80%AFAM-214x300.png 214w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-10-at-11.56.53%E2%80%AFAM-768x1078.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-10-at-11.56.53%E2%80%AFAM-1094x1536.png 1094w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/Screenshot-2024-04-10-at-11.56.53%E2%80%AFAM.png 1180w" sizes="(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" />Harvard student and Rhodes Scholar Asmer Asrar Safi posted an image of Ghassan Kanafani, a former leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist group PFLP just days after Hamas&#8217;s massacre of civilians in Israel.</div>
“Thinking about the words of Ghassan Kanafani as Harvard faces one of its most intense onslaughts of doxxing, intimidation and harassment,” he tweeted. “Here&#8217;s to rejecting occupation and apartheid in the face of everything today.”
A quote from Kanafani was removed from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-hires-24-7-security-to-protect-anti-israel-apartheid-wall-featuring-quote-from-famous-terrorist">Harvard’s anti-Israel “apartheid wall”</a> last week after media attention that the students platformed a man who was linked to the massacre of 26 people—including American tourists—at Ben Gurion airport in 1972, according to the Mossad.
Joshi has a long history of anti-Israel activism and was a member of one of the student groups that co-organized a statement blaming Israel for Hamas’ attack just a day after it happened, <a href="https://canarymission.org/individual/Shraddha_Joshi">according to Canary Mission</a>.
“There should be no surprise in this effort coming as it does from a group that is no longer antisemitic in effect, but antisemitic in their intent, words, and actions,” Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi told The Daily Wire. “What remains to be seen is to what degree faculty will continue to remain silent in the face of the rising Jew-hate that is defiantly being promulgated on campus.”
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Another Harvard student said the referendum can intensify “the alienation that Jewish students, particularly those from Israel, have felt since October by signaling to them that they do not have a place in the student body.”
“What is important to note is that on campus the divestment campaign has been framed as one against genocide,” the student added. “The referendum seeks divestment from any organization linked to Israel. There is a prevailing belief, as the petition shows, that even remote support for the Jewish state means support for genocide.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-employee-harasses-jewish-student-suing-school-for-anti-semitism-asks-to-debate-9-11-conspiracies">Harvard Employee Harasses Jewish Student Suing School For Anti-Semitism, Asks To Debate 9/11 Conspiracies</a>
The student also asked to remain anonymous because of the belief system that fuels the petition, and because the student fears peers “will use the illusion of the moral high ground to ostracize their classmates in both social and academic circles.”
A University <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/10/divestment-petition-israel-palestine/#:~:text=A%20University%20statement%20released%20last,petition%20to%20officially%20gather%20signatures.">statement</a> released last week said, “Harvard leadership has made clear that it opposes calls for a policy of boycotting Israel and its academic institutions.”
Harvard’s interim president Alan Garber launched working groups last week to explore if and how the university should make statements on political issues. 
“In recent months and years, we have heard clearly that many in our community feel constrained in their ability to express their views on critically important questions,” Garber and Interim Harvard Provost John Manning <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/4/5/garber-institutional-neutrality-group/">wrote in an email</a>. “More and more members of our community have also asked whether and when the University should use its official voice to address matters of social and political significance.”
UPDATE: This article has been updated to include a statement from Harvard.

Radical Harvard Students Set To Skirt Bylaws To Hold Anti-Israel Referendum Vote

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