More than 100 U.S. universities have issued a joint statement condemning Hamas and standing with Israel amid rising concerns about campus antisemitism, but conspicuously absent from the list were the Ivy League colleges.
Signers of “We Stand Together with Israel Against Hamas,” the open letter from Universities United Against Terrorism included the University of Notre Dame and the University of Texas at Austin, as well as numerous religious colleges and the United Negro College Fund.
“We are horrified and sickened by the brutality and inhumanity of Hamas. Murdering innocent civilians including babies and children, raping women and taking the elderly as hostages are not the actions of political disagreement but the actions of hate and terrorism,” said the recent letter signed by university presidents and chancellors addressed “Dear Colleagues.”
Those leading the hard-hitting statement included Yeshiva University, Arizona State and the University of Massachusetts. But missing were some of the nation’s most prestigious campuses, including the Ivy League members, Stanford and the University of California system.
The letter went on to say that the “basis of all universities is a pursuit of truth, and it is times like these that require moral clarity.”
“Like the fight against ISIS, the fight against Hamas is a fight against evil,” the statement said. “We, the presidents and chancellors of universities and colleges across the United States of America and the world, stand with Israel, with the Palestinians who suffer under Hamas’ cruel rule in Gaza and with all people of moral conscience.”
SEE ALSO: FBI arrests Cornell student suspected of threatening to kill Jewish students
Signed by the Presidents and Chancellors of over 100 Colleges and Universities and counting:
— Eli Klein (@TheEliKlein) November 3, 2023
We Stand Together
With Israel Against Hamas
We are horrified and sickened by the brutality and inhumanity of Hamas. Murdering innocent civilians including babies and children, raping… pic.twitter.com/pcsPym9RLK
Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University and convener of the coalition, said the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas “put a spotlight on campuses and the role university presidents have in articulating the values that higher education represents.”
“I am honored to stand with the signatories of this statement who are committed to bringing clarity and truth to these tumultuous times, and protecting our campus communities from violence and hate,” he said.
The emphatic pro-Israel declaration came with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student sentiment on campus fueling ongoing protests and walkouts, as well as threats and attacks against Jewish students.
Some of the most egregious incidents have occurred on Ivy League campuses. A Cornell student faces federal charges for threatening to kill Jewish students, while a Columbia student was charged with assault and hate crimes for hitting another student with a broomstick as he put up pro-Israel fliers.
SEE ALSO: 19-year-old charged with hate crimes in assault on Israeli Columbia University student
At an anti-Israel “die-in” at Harvard, pro-Palestinian student protesters yelling “shame” swarmed, jostled and blocked a Jewish graduate student as he tried to walk past.
Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar said the incident “has left many of our students shaken,” and that the FBI and campus police are investigating.
“But the protest has raised questions about how we address freedom of speech, hateful speech that goes against our community values, and security and safety for everyone at the School,” Mr. Datar said in an online post.
University officials have issued statements condemning antisemitism, although some alumni have accused them of dragging their feet on calling out Hamas.
Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania announced plans last week to convene task forces on combating antisemitism.
Penn President Liz Magill said in her announcement on Nov. 1 that she was “appalled by incidents on our own campus, and I’ve heard too many heartbreaking stories from those who are fearful for their safety right here at Penn. This is completely unacceptable.”
Such assurances have failed to assuage top donors. At Penn, billionaire Marc Rowan is leading a donor revolt that now includes major benefactors like former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Estee Lauder heir Ron Lauder, venture capitalist David Magerman, and “Law & Order” producer Dick Wolf.
Harvard alumni are also taking action. Billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman fired off an open letter Saturday to Harvard President Claudine Gay saying that “the situation at Harvard is dire and getting worse, much worse than I had realized.”
He said students who call for “Intifada” and call for Israel’s elimination should be disciplined. Those who harassed the Jewish student at the Oct. 18 protest should be suspended, and the admissions process should be evaluated to ascertain “why the university is admitting racist students,” he said.
“Actions speak much louder than words,” Mr. Ackman said in his letter. “Members of the Harvard community have heard some words, but experienced no actions of substance to address antisemitism on campus.”
A group of Harvard alumni launched last week the One Dollar Pledge, vowing to contribute $1 to the university but no more until Harvard “rediscovers its historic values and takes concrete steps to address the growing problem of antisemitism and intolerance that has taken hold within its gates.”
They accused Harvard of waffling in its response to the attack that left more than 1,400 Israelis dead. Pro-Palestinian student groups called for a ceasefire after Israel declared war on Hamas, which rules the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
“It should not require three statements (the latter two following a faculty protest) for this University and its leadership to condemn these evils,” said the One Dollar Pledge website. “Still more, University leaders, while giving proper due to the demands of free speech and robust debate, should have the moral courage to tell their students who support evil that those students are wrong.”
Other universities leading the Universities United Against Terrorism statement include the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities; Dillard University; the University of Miami, and the State University of New York.
Also signing was the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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