Harvard President Responds To Student Groups Blaming Israel For Hamas Attacks

Harvard President Claudine Gay responded Tuesday to student groups that blamed Israel for the deadly terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas over the weekend.

Over 30 Harvard student organizations released an open letter Sunday in support of Palestine, calling Israel an “apartheid regime” and blaming the “Israeli colonial occupation” for causing the brutal Hamas terrorist attacks that killed over 900 Israelis, including unarmed women and children, according to an Instagram post. Gay released a statement Tuesday saying that student groups don’t speak for Harvard and also saying they have a “right to speak,” according to a press release. 

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

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 29: A building stands on Harvard University’s campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

“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 continued.

Hamas terrorist groups invaded Israel Saturday launching over 5,000 rockets at the country and taking dozens of Israelis hostage, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. At a music festival near the Gaza border, Hamas terrorists paraglided in and killed hundreds of civilians, according to The Associated Press.

Multiple pro-Palestine student groups at other elite universities and colleges, such Columbia University, Yale University and George Washington University, have put out statements supporting Palestine following the brutal terrorist attack on Israel.

Bill Ackman, billionaire hedge fund manager, wrote on Twitter that students who signed the Harvard letter should have their names released, so that companies know not to hire them.

“If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known,” Ackman tweeted.