By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel
CHULA VISTA, California — In a recent development, several prominent CEOs have declared an intention not to employ Harvard University students who solely attribute the ongoing devastation in the Gaza and Israel conflict to Israel.
This follows a situation where 34 student groups coalesced to attribute the ongoing conflict exclusively to “the Israeli regime.” This statement drew criticism from the Anti-Defamation League, branding it “anti-Semitic,” while other quarters accused the university of facilitating hate speech.
- Prominent figures, including Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, have vocally expressed a desire among CEOs to identify and potentially blacklist these students from future employment. He insisted that no individual should be able to “shield behind a corporation” while endorsing the activities of terrorists involved in heinous acts.[1]
- Similarly, Jonathan Neman, CEO of Sweetgreen, and various other CEOs, have indicated that they would opt not to employ these students within their organizations, highlighting a corporate standpoint on the issue.[2]
The student bodies, in their statement, described an attack resulting in over 1,000 casualties as not occurring “in a vacuum.” They contended that the Israeli government has confined Palestinians to live in “an open-air prison” for more than two decades and indicted the Israeli “apartheid regime” for structured violence impacting Palestinians for 75 years.
Identified students such as Shir Lovett-Graff, Shifa Hossain, and Fatima Almire, who were among those supporting the statement, witnessed backlash, resulting in several student groups disabling their web pages, and at least two retracting their support.[3]
When some groups realized the embarrassment caused to the Harvard administration and Alumni and perceived potential jeopardy to their future employment, they reversed their stance, apologizing and condemning the violence orchestrated by Hamas.
The original statement, once removed by Instagram, was reposted under the label “Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups,” obscuring the original signing organizations’ names, citing “student safety.”
Harvard President Emeritus Lawrence Summers referred to the scenario as “sickening” due to the leadership’s perceived neutrality towards acts of terror against Israel. His successor, Claudine Gay, condemned the “terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel” in a subsequent statement.
Gay clarified that while students have the right to voice their opinions, no student group represents Harvard University or its leadership. Gay emphasized the condemnation of the terror acts and highlighted the necessity for dialogue that aims to illuminate rather than ignite during such tumultuous times.
The pressing query that arises is: Why are elite educational institutions seemingly endorsing antisemitism, either explicitly or through silence? A growing concern is evident regarding an unsettling trend within the American academic environment, with several universities becoming inadvertent platforms for antisemitism while intending to support Palestinian solidarity. Esteemed institutions like MIT, Duke, Columbia, Stanford, Yale, and UC Berkeley, through their silence, inadvertently allow a minority to spread a hateful ideology.
The current climate recalls the vital words of German Pastor Martin Niemoller, highlighting the dangers of silence in the face of injustice. It’s a pivotal moment for university leaders across the nation to clearly express their position against such atrocities, akin to the sentiment of President Joe Biden, who conveyed, “Silence is complicity. I want you to know, I refuse to be silent.”
Even those who may critique President Biden’s leadership can appreciate his crucial statement of condemnation—a moral position deserving of respect.
Educational institutions must engage in introspection regarding their silence and apparent complicity. The leadership cultivated within these institutions will significantly influence our nation’s future.
Given Hamas’s historical trend of committing violent acts, including deploying suicide bombers to target civilian areas and perpetuating severe acts of violence and brutality, the post-Holocaust generation must reinvoke the commitment of “Never Again” with profound sincerity and steadfast resolve.
The present atrocities compel a reevaluation and redefinition of the values and norms guiding global society. In a world teetering between civilized norms and extremist actions, this extends beyond regional conflict and encompasses a critical matter of human rights, affecting our collective existence.
Israeli educational psychologist Haim Ginott writes about a letter that teachers would receive from their principal each year:
- I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no person should witness: gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is this: Help your children become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths or educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human. [4]*
NOTES:
[1] Bill Ackman Doesn’t Want to Hire Harvard Students Who Blamed Israel (wsj.com)
[2] CEOs seek to blacklist Harvard students after signing pro-Palestinian letter (axios.com)
[3] Poisoned Ivy: Harvard students will be blacklisted by Wall Street after joining 31 organizations that blamed Israel for the Palestine war (nybreaking.com)
[4] Haim G. Ginnot, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers (New York: Scribner, 1993), p. 317.
*
Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista. He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com
Just when you thought academia could not sink any lower.