Harvard under new fire for antisemitism task force pick
Harvard law student Jonathan Frieden weighs in after a professor who previously signed a letter accusing Israel of wanting to ethically cleanse Gaza was picked for the university's antisemitism task force.
The head of Harvard’s antisemitism task force, Derek Penslar, reportedly claimed it would not be "appropriate" for him to speak at an antisemitism panel.
Penslar was previously scheduled to appear at a Center for Jewish History panel titled, "What is Antisemitism? Definitions and Debates" in New York City on Sunday. However, once the panel began, moderator Gavriel Rosenfield announced that Penslar would not be attending and instead read a statement from the Harvard professor.
"I am mindful of my role as co-chair of the Harvard Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism," Penslar reportedly said in the statement. "And since at the symposium I would invariably be asked to speak about the goings-on at Harvard, and since the task force is only now just being put together, and its plan of action is being formed, it would not be appropriate for me to make public comments at this time."
Several pro-Palestinian protests and demonstrations have occurred at Harvard since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The panel was intended to address "difficult challenges such as identifying the line between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, determining the differences between free speech and hate speech, and deciding the proper role universities should play in navigating these highly-charged issues."
Earlier this month, Interim Harvard President Alan Garber announced Penslar, a professor of Jewish history, as the co-chair of a "presidential task force" intended to combat antisemitic acts across campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack against Israel.
This decision faced widespread backlash after critics pointed out Penslar was one of over 2,800 academics, clergy members and other public figures who signed an open letter written by the group Academics4Peace in August.
Interim Harvard President Alan Garber announced an antisemitism task force earlier this month. (Paul Marotta/Getty Images)
The letter claimed the Israeli government aims to "ethnically cleanse all territories under Israeli rule of their Palestinian population," stating, "Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid."
"Meanwhile, American Jewish billionaire funders help support the Israeli far right," it read.
In a recent book titled, "Zionism: An Emotional State," Penslar also wrote that "Jewish culture was steeped in fantasies (and occasionally, acts) of vengeance against Christians."
Another passage read, "Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians from their land and oppression of those who remain have made it one of the most disliked countries on the planet."
Harvard Pres. Claudine Gay also came under fire for claiming that calling for a genocide of Jews would only violate the code of conduct depending on the "context." (Getty Images)
Harvard has come under heavy scrutiny after a series of antisemitic demonstrations and pronouncements solely condemning Israel for the attack that killed over 1000 Israeli citizens.
Former Harvard president Claudine Gay was also criticized after testifying to Congress that it would depend on the "context" whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the campus' code of conduct.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Penslar and Harvard University for comment.