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Harvard groups that signed pro-Hamas letter rush to distance themselves from it after CEOs say 'won't hire them'

The move, led by prominent billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, has drawn significant attention from various corners

WASHINGTON, DC: A coalition of business executives has taken a bold step to call for the exposure and potential blacklisting of Harvard students who had issued a statement blaming Israel for the Hamas attack. The move, led by prominent billionaire hedge fund manager, Bill Ackman, has drawn significant attention from various corners.

Business executives demand anti-Israel students be 'identified'

Over a dozen business executives, including CEOs from well-known companies such as EasyHealth, Belong, FabFitFun, Inspired, and DoveHill, have joined Ackman in this charge to reveal the identities of the students affiliated with the 31 student organizations who jointly released a statement on Sunday, October 8.

The statement in question was highly controversial, as it asserted that Israel was responsible for the recent violence involving Hamas.

Bill Ackman, in explaining his stance, emphasized that individuals should not be allowed to hide behind corporate affiliations when endorsing statements that appear to support the "actions of terrorists."

He highlighted the gravity of the situation by stating, "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 group behind the controversial statement, known as the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, issued a counterstatement on Wednesday, October 11, affirming their original message despite the backlash they claim to have faced.

Harvard student group defends message

Their statement read, "In the past 72 hours, our statement has made international headlines. PSC has been flooded with racist hate speech and death threats. Hundreds of students have been persecuted both on campus and online, even people unaffiliated with PSC."

"The targeting of Palestinian, Black, brown, Muslim, and international students specifically should be extremely concerning to all parties. These threats reached such a height that we were forced to postpone our vigil, intended to mourn all innocent lives lost," they wrote.

"We are appalled at the administration's failure to protect its students' safety. To state what should be clear: PSC staunchly opposes all violence against all innocent life and laments all human suffering. The ongoing discourse centered on Harvard diverts focus from the relentless carnage in Gaza, a dire situation which our joint statement urgently warned about," they continued.

Rather than issuing an apology or retracting their stance, the group decided to double down on their message and called on the Harvard community to reject the attacks on their members.

"The Palestinian death toll is only starting to mount," they wrote. "Loss of Palestinian lives, which has tragically become an annual occurrence, neither breaks the news nor prompts White House speeches." According to them, Harvard is, "a university that invests in Israeli apartheid," and "we are proud to stand steadfast against Israeli apartheid."

The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee further accused Harvard University of investing in what they referred to as "Israeli apartheid" and proudly declared their steadfast opposition to it. 

This unapologetic stance only fueled the controversy further, intensifying the public debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Corporate CEOs join the fray

Among the CEOs who have pledged never to hire anyone associated with the 31 Harvard student organizations, Jonathan Neman, the CEO of the popular salad chain Sweetgreen, echoed Bill Ackman's message, stating, "I would like to know so I know never to hire these people."

The sentiment was shared by several other prominent executives, including David Duel, CEO of healthcare services organization EasyHealth, Ale Resnik, CEO of rental housing startup Belong, and tech investor Martin Varsavsky, who all expressed their support for the call to identify these students.

Inspired, CEO Stephen Ready commented, "This is a must," and Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun, said, "We are in as well." Michael McQuaid, the head of DeFi operations at the blockchain company Bloq, added, "I completely agree, and have been wondering the same the last couple of days if/when the names of these students would come out."

CEO of DoveHill, Jake Wurzak, simply wrote, "I second this."

Withdrawal of support and apologies

The controversy took a new turn when at least five of the original endorsing groups decided to withdraw their signatures from the statement.

The full list of groups that initially supported the statement has been taken down, with the stated reason being concerns for their safety.

Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream, the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, the Harvard Islamic Society, and Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo were among those who chose to disassociate themselves from the statement.

The Harvard Nepali Student Association specifically condemned "violence by Hamas" and expressed regret that their involvement had been misinterpreted as tacit support for recent violent attacks in Israel.

Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo, which promotes South Asian culture, went a step further and formally apologized for its initial endorsement of the statement.

Controversial letter against Israeli regime

The original statement issued by the 31 student organizations pointedly held the Israeli regime responsible for the violence in the region.

"We, the undersigned student organizations, 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 asserted that the events were not isolated incidents but rather part of a long-standing pattern of violence against Palestinians.

"The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years. From systematized land seizures to routine airstrikes, arbitrary detentions to military checkpoints, and enforced family separations to targeted killings, Palestinians have been forced to live in a state of death, both slow and sudden," the statement said.

"Today, the Palestinian ordeal enters into uncharted territory. The coming days will require a firm stand against colonial retaliation. We call on the Harvard community to take action to stop the ongoing annihilation of Palestinians," it added.

Prominent figures weigh in

In response to the controversy, a significant number of students, alumni, and faculty at Harvard issued a counterstatement, Harvard Crimson reported. Notably, Lawrence Summers, Harvard President Emeritus, expressed his outrage at the situation, referring to the PSC statement as "sickening."

He also criticized the university for what he saw as a slow response to the controversy.

On Tuesday, Harvard's current President, Claudine Gay, finally issued a statement condemning both the attacks and the student group's original statement. This came after a period of intense scrutiny and debate over the university's response to the situation.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, specifically the surprise attack by Hamas and the Israeli military's response, has resulted in a significant number of casualties and ongoing tension in the region.

The Israeli military claimed that over 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have died in the conflict, while Gaza's health ministry reported over 1,100 casualties and more than 5,300 injured.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a hardline stance, vowing to eliminate every Hamas member. He acknowledged the severity of the situation and referred to claims of beheadings, albeit these claims had not been independently confirmed at the time.