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Former Harvard President Larry Summers once again blasted the Ivy League school on Tuesday — saying its statement on the Hamas attack on Israel fell short of condemning a student letter that laid the blame squarely on the Jewish state.
“The delayed @Harvard leadership statement fails to meet the needs of the moment,” Summers, the Harvard-trained economist who went on to fill top roles in the Clinton and Obama administrations including Treasury Secretary, wrote on his X social media account on Tuesday.
“Why can’t we find anything approaching the moral clarity of Harvard statements after George Floyd’s death or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when terrorists kill, rape, and take hostage hundreds of Israelis attending a music festival?” Summers asked.
Summers on Monday demanded that Harvard administrators condemn the statement put out by a group of 35 student organizations who blamed Israel for the Hamas assault that was staged on Saturday morning — resulting in the death of at least 1,000 Israelis.
“Why can’t we give reassurance that the University stands squarely against Hamas terror to frightened students when 35 groups of their fellow students appear to be blaming all the violence on Israel?” Summers wrote in his social media post late on Monday.
Why can’t we give reassurance that the University stands squarely against Hamas terror to frightened students when 35 groups of their fellow students appear to be blaming all the violence on Israel?
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 10, 2023The Post has sought comment from Harvard.
Harvard President Claudine Gay’s office released two statements on the events in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Summers reacted to a statement that was issued by Harvard administrators on Monday.
“We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway,” Harvard administrators wrote in the statement from Monday.
Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel
The statement did not explicitly condemn Hamas, prompting Summers to post his criticism.
Gay published a follow-up statement on Tuesday stating: “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 wrote in her statement.
“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.”
“We will all be well served in such a difficult moment by rhetoric that aims to illuminate and not inflame,” Gay wrote.
“And I appeal to all of us in this community of learning to keep this in mind as our conversations continue.”
Thirty-four student groups at Harvard signed the letter, though five of them have officially renounced their affiliation with the missive.
Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream, the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, the Harvard Islamic Society, and Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo all withdrew their endorsements, according to the campus newspaper Harvard Crimson.
The student groups that signed the letters are African American Resistance Organization; Bengali Association of Students at Harvard College; Harvard Act on a Dream; Harvard Arab Medical and Dental Student Association; Harvard Chan Muslim Student Association; Harvard Chan Students for Health Equity and Justice in Palestine; Harvard College Pakistan Student Association; Harvard Divinity School Muslim Association; Harvard Middle Eastern and North African Law Student Association; Harvard Graduate School of Education Islamic Society; Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine; Harvard Islamic Society; Harvard Law School Justice for Palestine; Harvard Divinity School Students for Justice in Palestine; Harvard Jews for Liberation; Harvard Kennedy School Bangladesh Caucus; Harvard Kennedy School Muslim Caucus; Harvard Kennedy School Muslim Women’s Caucus; Harvard Kennedy School Palestine Caucus; Harvard Muslim Law School Association; Harvard Pakistan Forum; Harvard Prison Divest Coalition; Harvard South Asian Law Students Association; Harvard South Asians for Forward-Thinking Advocacy and Research; Harvard TPS Coalition; Harvard Undergraduate Arab Women’s Collective; Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo; Harvard Undergraduate Muslim Women’s Medical Alliance; Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Students Association; Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee; Middle East and North African Graduate School of Design Student Society; Neighbor Program Cambridge; Sikhs and Companions of Harvard Undergraduates; and Society of Arab Students.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has highlighted the inflamed discourse on college campuses.
Student groups at California State University in Long Beach are facing backlash for a “sickening” pro-Palestine rally poster featuring a paraglider after Hamas terrorists used the aircraft to launch their deadly ground invasion in Israel.
At least 1,000 Israelis have been killed as a result of the Hamas assault. Scores of others have been kidnapped and taken hostage.
Israeli air strikes in Gaza have killed at least 700 Palestinians, according to authorities in the Hamas-ruled territory.
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