The anti-Israel protest encampment at Harvard University is coming to an end after the school reportedly agreed to some of the protestors’ requests.
The encampment began on April 25 and news of the encampments end came from Harvard community, in the form of a letter from University President Alan Garber, in which he laid out several measures that will be taken as a result of the deal with the protestors.
With the “disruption to the educational environment” the encampment caused over, Garber said he will ask that schools begin “reinstatement proceedings” for those who were given “involuntary leaves of absence” and that disciplinary boards “evaluate expeditiously … the cases of those who participated in the encampment.”
“I acknowledge the profound grief that many in our community feel over the tragic effects of the ongoing war,” Garber went on to say. “There will continue to be deep disagreements and strongly felt emotions as. We experience pain and distress over events in the wide world.” He went on to urge that the school model ways to “build understanding, empathy and trust … .”
Garber also said he and the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will meet with students to “hear their perspectives on academic matters related to longstanding conflicts in the Middle East.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, a student at the university who is suing the university for their handling of antisemitism on campus, says the protestors are getting more consideration than Jewish students, noting he has “not once” been invited to share his concerns.
“It is the height of hypocrisy and irresponsibility to placate to the demands of those who violate policy and rules, as well as disregard [for] fellow classmates,” he said. “Additionally, Alan Garber made no mention of the blatant antisemitism on display throughout their encampment, their calls for the violent destruction of the Jewish state, and their intimidation and harassment tactics of Jewish students.”
Garber was appointed as the school’s interim president earlier this year after Claudine Gay stepped down amid allegations of plagiarism and after being called in front of Congress to discuss rampant incidents of Jew-hate on campus.
“It is the height of hypocrisy and irresponsibility to placate to the demands of those who violate policy and rules, as well as disregard their fellow classmates. Additionally, Alan Garber made no mention of the blatant antisemitism on display throughout their encampment, their calls for the violent destruction of the Jewish state, and their intimidation and harassment tactics of Jewish students.”
