A Harvard anti-Israel student activist group was placed on probation, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity said on Wednesday, following a protest against the firing of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies leadership and scrutiny by the federal government of campus antisemitism and radicalism.
Harvard PSC said on Instagram that the university administration had been banned from holding public events until June 30, allegedly over a Tuesday protest that was co-sponsored with unrecognized organizations. PSC noted that the ban came the weekend before it was slated to install its annual Israeli Apartheid Wall exhibit.
"We call on all student organizations to stand with the movement for Palestine -- silence will not save us," said PSC.
The group urged supporters to contact Harvard president Alan Garber about the matter.
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Harvard anti-Israel protests
Hundreds of students had protested on Tuesday at a Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP) rally outside a faculty meeting, according to a HOOP social media video. PSC said the students were acting against "Harvard’s capitulation to the fascist [US President Donald] Trump administration" and its "purge in the Palestine Studies."
PSC highlighted the end of the roles of Center for Middle Eastern Studies Director Professor Cemal Kafadar and associate director Associate Professor Rosie Bsheer last Friday. Harvard American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a Monday statement rejecting the change in leadership of the center as voluntary, accusing the administration of dismissing them without proper process. The administration allegedly wished for more politically neutral programming on the Israeli-Arab conflict.
"These terminations violate the principle of academic freedom at the heart of our institutional mission and set a bleak precedent for free inquiry and expertise at the university," said AAUP. "At a minimum, the administration of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences should release any reports or evaluations of CMES’s alleged failure to meet its new standard."
PSC on Wednesday also noted Harvard's suspension of ties with Birzeit University, a Palestinian school, which has seen regular Hamas activism on its campus. The Harvard Crimson had reported the suspension of the research partnership last Thursday. JTA reported that since the October 7 Massacre there have been calls to end the partnership with the West Bank institution, backed by former Harvard President Larry Summers as well as alumna congresswoman Rep. Elise Stefanik.
On Monday the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced that it was reviewing $255.6 million in contracts and more than $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments with Harvard to ensure its compliance with civil rights responsibilities. Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon said that Harvard had failed to protect students from antisemitic discrimination and promoted "divisive ideologies." Federal Acquisition Service commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said that the university had recently taken "long overdue" action to curb institutionalized antisemitism, but more needed to be done to "retain the privilege of receiving federal taxpayer's hard earned dollars."
Garber responded in a Monday statement by reminding of the institution's efforts thus far to discipline students and institute new programs against harassment, but acknowledged that the university had shortcomings and promised to address the critical problems of antisemitism.
"I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university," said Garber. "We will engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat antisemitism to ensure that they have a full account of the work we have done and the actions we will take going forward to combat antisemitism."