‘Lost confidence’. Millionaire Bill Ackman writes to Harvard chief on ‘antisemitic incidents’ at alma mater

Ackman, a hedge fund manager and Harvard graduate, wrote a letter to university president Claudine Gay, urging her to take action against harassment of Jewish students & faculty.

File photo of billionaire Bill Ackman | Reuters

New Delhi: Harvard University has come under fire from one of its own alumni, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who accused the university of failing to address the “growing number of antisemitic incidents on campus”.

In a letter to Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, posted on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) Sunday, Ackman expressed his loss of confidence in her and the university’s ability to do what is required to protect Jewish students and faculty members from harassment, intimidation, and violence.

“I have lost confidence that you and the University will do what is required,” said Ackman. 

Ackman claimed that he had spent several hours on campus last week meeting students and faculty members, and witnessed firsthand the hostile environment that Jewish people faced at Harvard.

“Jewish students are being bullied, physically intimidated, spat on, and in several widely disseminated videos of one such incident, physically assaulted. Student Slack message boards are replete with antisemitic statements, memes, and images,” he wrote.

He also said that on-campus protesters shouted slogans calling for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people, such as “Intifada! Intifada! Intifada! From the River to the Sea, Palestine Shall Be Free! as they knowingly call for violent insurrection and use eliminationist language seeking the destruction of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.”

‘Double standard’ 

Ackman alleged that Harvard had given a “commitment to free expression” as a reason for the lack of action against those protesting against Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-Israel conflict. However, he argued that Harvard had not embraced a serious commitment to free speech, particularly in recent years.

He cited the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) Annual College Free Speech Rankings, in which Harvard had consistently finished in the bottom quartile in each of the past four years, with its ranking deteriorating each year.

Ackman also alleged that many Jewish students had not only become afraid to express their views but also felt unwelcome and unsafe at Harvard.

“The issue of equity, or the lack thereof (by the administration), was another issue about which I heard constant complaints, i.e., the so-called ‘double standard’,” he said. 

He quoted a faculty member who asked: “What would Claudine do if 34 Harvard student organisations put out a statement on 25 May, 2020 that ‘George Floyd [African-American murder in police custody] had it coming,’” noting that Gay had yet to condemn the student organisation letter which held Israel “solely responsible” for the heinous and barbaric acts of a terrorist organisation.

Ackman was referring to a statement issued by 33 students of Harvard University on 13 October that held the “Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence”. 

The statement, which came three days after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, said, “For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced.”

“In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence. The apartheid regime is the only one to blame,” it added.

The statement sparked widespread criticism, and Ackman at the time called on Harvard to reveal the names of the students who signed the letter to ensure that companies do not hire such individuals.

Harvard’s response questioned

Ackman also criticised Harvard’s response to the antisemitism on campus, which he said was inadequate and biased.

Calling out the university for its failure to “condemn the barbaric acts of 7 October” by Hamas, Ackman said, “The failure of your communications to the public and the University coupled with the fact that the first tangible action by the University was to protect those who blamed Israel has created a belief among the Jewish and Israeli community at Harvard that they are not deemed welcome nor worthy of protection by the University.”

He said that the first tangible action by the university was to set up a task force on 24 October to support students experiencing doxxing, harassment, and online security issues following a backlash against students allegedly affiliated with the statement that held Israel “entirely responsible” for the violence in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ackman believes that this sent a message that it was taking sides in the conflict by only supporting students who held Israel responsible for “Hamas’ vile acts”.

He also mentioned another statement by Gay, this time against antisemitism, which he said was ineffective and insincere.

“Students who participated in my Thursday town hall were either unaware of that announcement or alternatively questioned your commitment to address antisemitism,” he wrote.

The billionaire also alleged that the outburst of antisemitism at Harvard was a recent phenomenon and was largely due to “your actions and inactions and that of the administration and the university at large in failing to appropriately address blatant antisemitism on campus.”

Ackman calls for action

Ackman urged Gay to take immediate and decisive action to address the antisemitism on campus and to restore Harvard’s reputation as a place of academic excellence and intellectual diversity. He suggested seven steps to be taken in order to solve the issue of antisemitism at Harvard

First, he said that the students involved in harassing and allegedly physically assaulting the students of the Harvard Business School on 18 October should be “immediately suspended”.

According to media reports, Harvard students were allegedly mobbed by pro-Palestine protesters on 18 October, videos of which have circulated on social media. 

“Taking decisive action now will put all Harvard students, faculty and staff on notice that the University takes violations of Harvard’s code of conduct seriously, and will bring great comfort to the Jewish community at Harvard that appropriate actions to reduce threats to their safety are being implemented.” wrote Ackman

Second, he said that the protesters who had been chanting “Intifada and other eliminationist statements” should be subject to disciplinary action. Third, he said that the university should review the student Slack message boards to “identify those students who have made antisemitic statements or shared antisemitic imagery.” He added, “These students should also be referred to the Administration Board for appropriate disciplinary action.”

Fourth, he said that the university should publicly reach out to students in an effort to obtain other examples of antisemitic acts that should also be “carefully investigated,” followed by disciplinary steps.

“Fifth, the university should form a task force to review the appropriateness of the activities of the OEDIB (Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging) and whether its practice of excluding certain minority communities on campus, including Asian and Jewish students, is appropriate, which in fact may be contributing to discrimination against these groups on campus.”

Sixth, he said that the results of the “antisemitism task force” should be made public as soon as possible so that “we can better understand the sources of antisemitism at Harvard.” He also called for Harvard’s admissions practices to be reassessed.

Seventh and the last step suggested by Ackman was that Gay should make clear that Harvard supports free speech on campus, but that certain “kinds of hate speech as well as fighting words and incitement to violence are not consistent with Harvard’s values or considered appropriate conduct for members of the Harvard community.”

Calling it a “historic opportunity” for Gay, Ackman said, “Successfully addressing antisemitism at Harvard and creating an environment with true freedom of expression will become a critically important part of your legacy as the Harvard community works together to address these challenges at a difficult time in world history.”

(Edited by Richa Mishra)