Harvard apologizes for antisemitism after October 7th

[BrightShinyGirl]

https://www.jta.org/

“Harvard University’s president has apologized for the campus climate over the last year and a half, in a letter accompanying a long-awaited report from a university task force on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.

The task force found that Jewish and Israeli students at Harvard experienced pervasive ‘shunning’ and were relentlessly targeted for their identities by both peers and faculty in the days and months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, according to the report, released Tuesday.”

The contents of the report are pretty awful and the vilification would not have be tolerated if it had been directed at any other minority group.

 

[HumpDayHoratio]

Double Post!

Beat ya to it 1174…

 

[Lazaran]

The anti-Semitic bullshit that was allowed to happen on campuses was only surpassed by the pro-"Palestine" crowd helping elect DonOld.

They doubled down on “wrong” and “stupid”.



We. Told. Them. So.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

Full report here

 

[ll74]

Too little too late on that. They didn't protect students when they needed to. They should compensate their Jewish students.

 

[eric_erosfan]

Is all protest against killing Gazans antisemitic?

 

[ll74]

Is all protest against killing Gazans antisemitic?

If it specifically targets Jewish students with insults or violence, yes.

 

[eric_erosfan]

If it specifically targets Jewish students with insults or violence, yes.

What if Jewish students might feel fearful of going near the protest?

 

[ll74]

What if Jewish students might feel fearful of going near the protest?

If students can get to class safely, which was what occurred, then yes.

No protest should put anyone in harm's way unless the protestor is the one accepting that risk for themselves.

 

[eric_erosfan]

So were jewish students harmed or did they just feel uncomfortable?

 

[ll74]

So were jewish students harmed or did they just feel uncomfortable?

Yes.

 

[ll74]

What if Jewish students might feel fearful of going near the protest?

Just a clarifying statement:
Antisemitic behavior/rhetoric doesn't actually require anything from the Jewish target of that behavior.

I'm speaking in regards to the University's responsibility to their students, which to me is the most important thing regardless of race/religion/etc

 

[eric_erosfan]

Yes.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/29/us/harvard-reports-antisemitism-anti-muslim-bias

Seems like both sides felt fearful?

Was there actual violence that was tolerated by Harvard?

Should protest that might cause fear or hurt feelings be banned?

 

[ll74]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/29/us/harvard-reports-antisemitism-anti-muslim-bias

Seems like both sides felt fearful?

Possibly

Was there actual violence that was tolerated by Harvard?

Yes

Should protest that might cause fear or hurt feelings be banned?

On campus, students should be safe and feel safe.

You are entirely too focused on whether Jews are getting preferential treatment here, imo.

 

[eric_erosfan]

Possibly


Yes


On campus, students should be safe and feel safe.

You are entirely too focused on whether Jews are getting preferential treatment here, imo.

My biggest concern is that protest which by its very nature is going to upset one or both sides is not limited or banned solely based on the discomfort it causes. It is supposed to cause discomfort.

Anti-Apartied protests probably upset a lot of white South Africans on campus in the 80s. BLM protests probably caused a lot of discomfort among some white students in recent years.

Anti-Trump protests no doubt cause angst and anxiety.

But as long as there is not physical violence all of these are actions of a free society. That is why I wanted clarification of what line was crossed.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/29/us/harvard-reports-antisemitism-anti-muslim-bias

Seems like both sides felt fearful?

Was there actual violence that was tolerated by Harvard?

Should protest that might cause fear or hurt feelings be banned?

Reading through the full report, both sides didn’t feel fearful. Only the Jews did. The pro-Palestinians were angry that their more extreme calls to eradicate Israel were being criticized.

 

[eric_erosfan]

Reading through the full report, both sides didn’t feel fearful. Only the Jews did. The pro-Palestinians were angry that their more extreme calls to eradicate Israel were being criticized.

Umm...

"Among the Jewish students that participated in the survey, 67% reported feeling discomfort expressing their opinions with others at Harvard, compared with 80% of Muslim students, according to the reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias.

An overwhelming 92% of Muslims surveyed at the university said they believed they were likely to face academic or professional repercussions for expressing their opinions, according to the report on anti-Muslim bias. Meanwhile, 61% of Jewish respondents felt they would face academic or professional repercussions for expressing their opinions, according to the report on antisemitism."

 

[ll74]

My biggest concern is that protest which by its very nature is going to upset one or both sides is not limited or banned solely based on the discomfort it causes. It is supposed to cause discomfort.

Anti-Apartied protests probably upset a lot of white South Africans on campus in the 80s. BLM protests probably caused a lot of discomfort among some white students in recent years.

Anti-Trump protests no doubt cause angst and anxiety.

But as long as there is not physical violence all of these are actions of a free society. That is why I wanted clarification of what line was crossed.

The line that was crossed is that students feared for their safety on campus. Both reports separately showed a significant amount of students were fearful

 

[eric_erosfan]

The line that was crossed is that students feared for their safety on campus. Both reports separately showed a significant amount of students were fearful

So if any group claims to be fearful of a protest that protest should be banned? Or are you saying the standard of free speech on campus is different from the public square?

 

[ll74]

So if any group claims to be fearful of a protest that protest should be banned?

I didn't say that.

Or are you saying the standard of free speech on campus is different from the public square?

What part of student safety on campus is difficult to understand for you?

If a student doesn't feel safe on campus, the college has failed their responsibilities.

If a protest does make people feel less safe, then that protest should be addressed to change that.

And a sidenote - any protest on private property is different than a protest on public property.

 

[eric_erosfan]

I didn't say that.


What part of student safety on campus is difficult to understand for you?

If a student doesn't feel safe on campus, the college has failed their responsibilities.

If a protest does make people feel less safe, then that protest should be addressed to change that.

And a sidenote - any protest on private property is different than a protest on public property.

I think by that standard there will be no protests on college campuses. Someone will always claim to not feel safe.

 

[ll74]

I think by that standard there will be no protests on college campuses. Someone will always claim to not feel safe.

The reports show plenty of students were targeted deliberately. Saying they are lying is ignoring the objective facts presented there.

If people want to protest, they don't need to take over buildings, threaten other students or dox them.

I am fully in favor of protests and free speech, even that speech I completely find abhorrent.

 

[Politruk]

This apologetic gesture ain't gonna help Harvard deal with the Trump Admin, not at all.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

This apologetic gesture ain't gonna help Harvard deal with the Trump Admin, not at all.

This isn't about Trump. It's about Harvard protecting its Jewish students from harassment. It's similar to the antisemitism initiative launched by UCLA a month ago.

 

[eric_erosfan]

This isn't about Trump. It's about Harvard protecting its Jewish students from harassment. It's similar to the antisemitism initiative launched by UCLA a month ago.

And yet...

"Members of both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian communities expressed concern over doxxing: the university’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Bias found pro-Palestinian students’ faces and private information were plastered on box trucks and their information was published online, often labeling them as antisemites or terrorists.

One faculty member told the task force a doxxed student had received death and rape threats after their face and phone number were put on a “doxxing truck” and shared online.

Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias revealed similar incidents among Jewish students supporting the anti-Zionist movement on campus.

“My roommate was doxxed, our apartment was doxxed,” one Jewish graduate student told the task force. "