The group shared a flyer featuring a drawing of a hand with a Star of David and dollar sign hanging two non-white men with a noose.
Harvard University’s Lowell House residential community will host an event titled “Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious Literacy” this Thursday, featuring two doctoral candidates in religion and a visiting professor of modern Jewish studies as guest speakers. The moderator and organizer, a recent Ph.D. recipient and resident tutor by the name of Chance Bonar, is a founding member of the Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) organization.
Those who have paid attention to recent events on Harvard’s campus might recognize the name of that group. The FSJP was one of three organizations at the university that shared a flyer containing a cartoon showing a hand—emblazoned with a Star of David and a dollar sign—holding a noose around the necks of two men who appear to be Gamal Abdel Nasser and Muhammed Ali. The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the African and African American Resistance Organization also shared the flyer.
After news that the organizations used the antisemitic cartoon in a flyer broke and prompted a flurry of condemnations, the groups deleted the infographic from their social-media pages and issued apologies.
“It has come to our attention that a post featuring antiquated cartoons which used offensive antisemitic tropes was linked to our account. We removed the content as soon as it came to our attention,” FSJP members wrote in a statement. “We apologize for the hurt that these images have caused and do not condone them in any way. Harvard FSJP stands against all forms of hate and bigotry, including antisemitism.”
Harvard itself denounced the image in a written statement sent to National Review.
“The University is aware of social media posts today containing deeply offensive antisemitic tropes and messages from organizations whose membership includes Harvard affiliates,” a university spokesperson told NR. “Such despicable messages have no place in the Harvard community. We condemn these posts in the strongest possible terms.”
The spokesperson added that the incident was “being reviewed” by Harvard’s administration.
The Thursday Lowell House event was advertised to students as a partnership with Harvard’s Safra Center for Ethics, but according to a statement the center’s director released Monday, the discussion’s organizers did not get permission to use the ethics center’s name.
“This topic is an important one to address, but the event itself was finalized and announced without our Center’s review and approval,” Safra Center director Eric Beerbohm wrote. “The composition of the event is not in keeping with the principles of civil disagreement we uphold at the Center, which demand representation from multiple perspectives, particularly on contentious issues of the moment. We have made clear that we cannot co-sponsor or support this event as it currently stands.”
Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Jewish student at Harvard Divinity School who recently spoke at a House Education and Workforce Committee roundtable about antisemitism on his campus, also mentioned to National Review that the advertised discussion featured Halal food options but not kosher choices. Though a seemingly small issue, Kestenbaum said, it is emblematic of Harvard’s attitude.
“There is no better representation of progressive antisemitism than to make sure to accommodate Muslim students by presenting both Halal food and ‘to-go’ dinners for Ramadan, while offering no kosher food nor ‘to-go’ dinners for Jewish students fasting on Taanit Esther,” Kestenbaum told NR. “That this is a panel to discuss antisemitism further solidifies what we all now know: Harvard has ruined its reputation.”