Bill Ackman, billionaire founder of the US-based hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday demanded a list of Harvard students who backed the Palestinian militant outfit Hamas amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine war. He was reacting to a statement signed by around 30 Harvard student organisations who held Israel “entirely responsible” for the devastation unleashed by Hamas fighters.
“I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organisations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members,” Ackman wrote in his post.
He further said that if the members of these student organisations support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories of the letter should be made public. “One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists, who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other inconceivably despicable acts,” the veteran hedge fund manager wrote towards the end of his post.
Ackman was not the only one to condemn Harvard publicly. Harvard alumni and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers also attacked Harvard for its lack of response to student groups that have blamed Israel for the surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday.
“In nearly 50 years of Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today,” Summers said. “The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student group’s statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel,” he further wrote.
A statement by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) held Israel solely responsible for the violence that has unfolded in Israel and Gaza so far.
“We, the undersigned student organisations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence. Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison,” the statement read.
It further claimed that Israeli officials promised to “open the gates of hell” and the killings in Gaza have already begun. It added that Palestinians living in Gaza have no shelters for refuge and that they will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence in the coming days.
Soon after the controversial statement backing Hamas went viral on social media platforms, Harvard University President Claudine Gay said that they condemned the terrorist activities of Hamas. Gay also said that the 30 student groups don’t speak for either Harvard University or its leadership.
“Let me also state, 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.
Moreover, Harvard University leadership had also issued a joint statement on the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza. “The violence 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,” the statement read. It further said that the university will provide as much support to the students and teachers as possible.
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