‘Abhorrent’: Harvard president decries Hamas attacks after students blame Israelis for violence

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University’s president on Tuesday condemned “the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas” in Israel, days after student organizations at the school signed a controversial joint statement holding Israelis responsible for all recent violence in that country.

Harvard President Claudine Gay in a statement distanced herself and university leadership from the students’ statement which drew harsh criticism from congressional leaders and others, including Congressmen Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss, who are both Harvard alumni.

Three dozen student organizations at Harvard signed a joint statement holding “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

“On this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership,” Gay said in a statement on Tuesday.

Over 1,550 people are dead and thousands more are wounded after Hamas launched surprise attacks in Israel on Saturday. Israel responded with massive airstrikes on Palestinian Gaza, which have killed hundreds more. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that at least 14 Americans have been killed in Israel, and at least 20 U.S. citizens are believed to be missing. Officials have confirmed that Americans are among the people taken hostage by Hamas militants.

“This is an act of sheer evil,” Biden said during a news conference at the White House. “More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered — not just killed, slaughtered — in Israel.”

The joint statement from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups was signed by 35 organizations early Sunday, including Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard Jews for Liberation, Harvard Divinity School Muslim Association, Harvard Law School Justice for Palestine, and Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine.

Moulton on Monday blasted the university following the controversial statement from Harvard students.

“Terrorism is never justified nor someone else’s fault. As hundreds of Israelis and others, including several Americans, remain kidnapped, injured, or dead, the 31 Harvard organizations that signed a letter holding Israel ‘entirely responsible’ for Hamas’ barbarous terrorism should be condemned, as should Harvard leadership for whom silence is complicity,” Moulton said in a statement Monday afternoon. “I cannot recall a moment when I’ve been more embarrassed by my alma mater.”

“What’s happening at Harvard right now is intellectually weak and morally repugnant,” Moulton added.

Gay called the surprise attacks on Israeli citizens over the weekend “abhorrent.”

“As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas,” Gay said. “Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.”

In a statement on Monday, Gay said the violence in Israel “hits all too close to home for many at Harvard.”

“Some members of our community have lost family members and friends; some have been unable to reach loved ones. And, even for people at Harvard who have not been affected directly by the fighting, there are feelings of fear, sadness, anger, and more that create a heavy burden,” Gay said. “We have heard from many students, faculty, and staff about the emotional toll that these events are taking.”

The university is sharing available resources with students and colleagues, Gay said.

“We have no illusion that Harvard alone can readily bridge the widely different views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but we are hopeful that, as a community devoted to learning, we can take steps that will draw on our common humanity and shared values in order to modulate rather than amplify the deep-seated divisions and animosities so distressingly evident in the wider world,” Gay said Monday. “Especially at such a time, we want to emphasize our commitment to fostering an environment of dialogue and empathy, appealing to one another’s thoughtfulness and goodwill in a time of unimaginable loss and sorrow.”

On Tuesday, the university president called for less inflammatory rhetoric as war unfolds in the Middle East.

“We will all be well served in such a difficult moment by rhetoric that aims to illuminate and not inflame,” Gay said. “And I appeal to all of us in this community of learning to keep this in mind as our conversations continue.”

A rally is planned for Wednesday at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where attendees will express support for Israelis as their war with Hamas rages into a fifth day.

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