A billionaire Harvard donor and alumna has called for the university president to resign after she refused to say that calling for genocide against Jews was harassment.
Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager who donated $26 million to the university in 2014, said Tuesday he was outraged by Claudine Gay’s performance.
Ackman, who is Jewish, accused her of a “profound moral bankruptcy” and said she and other university presidents who spoke at a congressional hearing on Tuesday must “resign in disgrace.”
Gay was called to testify before the House Education Committee, along with University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who is Jewish.
All three women have faced pressure from House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik over their actions to combat anti-Semitism at their universities.
Harvard President Claudine Gay appears before the House Education Committee on Tuesday to discuss anti-Semitism
University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill (left) and MIT President Sally Kornbluth (right) also testified Tuesday
🚨🚨🚨Presidents of @Harvard @WITH And @Penn Refuse to say whether “calling for the genocide of the Jews” constitutes bullying and harassment under their codes of conduct. Even if I go so far as to say that it needs to be “put into action” first. Like committing genocide.
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND… pic.twitter.com/hUY3SgoOOi
– Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) December 5, 2023
The three universities were rocked by a series of pro-Palestinian marches on their campuses after the Oct. 7 attack, with students blaming Israel for Hamas’ terror attacks and saying the country deserved it.
Some academics have expressed radical anti-Israel views, and threats have been made against Jewish students on campus.
All three presidents have acknowledged that they have been slow to distance themselves from student groups that justified the Oct. 7 massacres.
But they insisted they wanted to preserve a free speech environment — and, to Stefanik’s anger, refused to give a “yes or no” answer to questions about condemning certain rhetoric.
“I explicitly ask and demand the genocide of the Jews: Is this harassment or harassment?” asked Stefanik.
Gay told her that it depends on the context.
Stefanik replied that it was “the easiest question,” then answered for her: “The answer is yes.”
Stefanik pressed Gay on whether Harvard would punish students or applicants who advocate the murder of Jews.
Elise Stefanik, a Republican who represents New York, asked questions of the three university presidents on Tuesday
Gay responded: “This type of hateful, reckless and offensive speech is personally abhorrent to me.”
She said the university has “robust policies” that hold individuals accountable when comments result in behavior such as bullying, harassment or intimidation.
“We are committed to freedom of expression and give a wide berth to freedom of expression, even when it comes to views that are offensive, outrageous and offensive,” Gay said.
At one point Gay said: “I tried to confront hate while preserving free speech.” “It’s difficult work, and I know I haven’t always done it right.”
But Stefanik said their answers were “unacceptable” and called for all three to resign.
Ackman said he was appalled by the statement.
Bill Ackman, who has a net worth of $3.5 billion and earned his BA and MBA from Harvard University, blamed Gay for the “blatant” newfound anti-Semitism and said the hate is being fueled by “your actions and “Omissions” caused.
On October 14, Palestinian supporters gathered at Harvard University at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts to show their support for Gaza and their hatred of Israel
Harvard University’s Palestine Solidarity Committee sparked outrage when it wrote on October 7 that Israel bore “sole responsibility for all the violence that is unfolding.” President Claudine Gay was heavily criticized for failing to adequately condemn the students who supported the declaration
“This may be the most extraordinary testimony ever produced in Congress, particularly on the subject of genocide,” he wrote on X.
“The presidents’ responses reflect the profound educational, moral and ethical failures that permeate some of our elite educational institutions, due in large part to their failed leadership.”
He said the trio’s responses would be unacceptable in the business world.
“If a CEO of one of our companies gave a similar response, he or she would toast within an hour,” he said.
“Why has anti-Semitism exploded on campus and around the world?”
“Because of leaders like Presidents Gay, Magill and Kornbluth who believe genocide depends on context.”
“To think that these are the heads of Ivy League institutions who have the responsibility of educating our best and brightest.”
His criticism of Gay comes just days after the billionaire posted an open letter
The Jewish student organization Harvard Hillel said Gay’s “refusal” to “put a stop to” the threatening anti-Semitic statement was “deeply shocking.”
Harvard Hillel said they questioned the president’s “ability to protect Jewish students on Harvard’s campus.”
“We are appalled at the need to state the obvious: a call for genocide against Jews is always a hateful incitement to violence.” “President Gay’s failure to adequately condemn this speech calls into question their ability to educate Jewish students on the “To protect Harvard campuses,” Harvard Hillel said.
“Chants of ‘Globalization of the Intifada,’ an endorsement of violent terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli civilians, and ‘From River to Sea,’ an eliminatory slogan intended to deprive Jews of their right to self-determination in Israel, have become tragically routine at Harvard.”
A newly surfaced video shows a confrontation at a recent demonstration on Harvard University’s campus, where pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded a student who was chanting “shame.”
Protesters surround a man (with arms raised) as he walks through the courtyard holding up keffiyehs (scarves) before slipping into a nearby building during the October 18 protest at Harvard University
Magill, the UPenn president, was asked about her school’s participation in a Palestine Writes Festival in September.
A complaint against Penn filed with the Department of Education cites the festival as a catalyst for anti-Semitic incidents on campus. Speakers included several who had made anti-Semitic statements in the past, such as Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters.
She said anti-Semitic comments at the event were “abhorrent” to her and that the institution had taken security precautions.
“Why on earth would you host someone like that on your campus?” asked Jim Banks, a Republican congressman from Indiana.
“Anti-Semitism has no place at Penn,” Magill began to respond.
Banks interrupted and asked, “Why did you invite Roger Waters?”
She concluded: “I think canceling this conference would have been very incompatible with academic freedom and freedom of expression, although I find the views of some people who came to this conference very, very offensive because of their anti-Semitism.”