Students condemn Harvard groups’ letter blaming Israelis for own massacre
Boston-area students reacted to Harvard student groups' letter blaming Israel for Hamas' acts of terrorism. Several students said they don't feel safe on campus.
Several student groups at Harvard University have withdrawn their signatures from a controversial document blaming Israel as "entirely responsible" for the Hamas terror attack on Israeli civilians, following intense backlash.
The U.S. State Department confirmed Wednesday that at least 22 Americans were killed in the surprise terror attack and another 20 more Americans were missing. At least 2,100 people have been killed in the war, including more than 1,200 people in Israel, Fox News has reported.
Following the attack on Saturday, more than two dozen student groups signed onto a statement penned by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, blaming Israel as "entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."
Campus newspaper The Harvard Crimson reported Wednesday that at least five of the document's original 34 signatories had withdrawn their endorsement of the polarizing statement.
‘DESPICABLE’: STUDENTS CONDEMN HARVARD STUDENT GROUPS' LETTER BLAMING ISRAELIS FOR OWN MASSACRE
More than two dozen student groups at Harvard signed a controversial statement blaming Israel as ‘entirely responsible’ for the terror attack. (Getty Images)
Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream, the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, the Harvard Islamic Society, and Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo withdrew their signatures, according to the student newspaper.
The names of signors is currently private on the document, after some students' private information was shared online, the Crimson reported.
"This statement was co-authored by a coalition of Palestine solidarity groups at Harvard. For student safety, the names of all original signing organizations have been concealed at this time," an update said on the statement Wednesday.
However, several student groups posted updates to their social media on Tuesday, apologizing and acknowledging they had withdrawn their signatures.
"We regret that our decision to co-sign the latest PSC statement to call attention to historical injustices against Palestinians, with an earnest desire for peace, has been interpreted as a tacit support for the recent violent attacks in Israel," The Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association posted in a statement to Instagram.
Pro-Palestinian protesters marched in New York City, with some stomping on an Israeli flag and taunting Israel supporters with a swastika. ((Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images))
"To ensure that our stance on the condemnation of violence by Hamas and support for a just peace remains clear, we retract our signature from the statement," they continued.
Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo also formally apologized and condemned the "massacre propagated by the terrorist organization Hamas" through a statement on Instagram.
Some groups claimed they signed the statement unwittingly.
Immigrant student group Act on a Dream told the Crimson the document was signed due to "miscommunication" and "a lack of due diligence in sharing the statement with the entirety of the board."
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A handful of Harvard student groups backed out of the controversial statement, following backlash. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
"Our board members were not made aware that AOD as an organization had signed on to the PSC statement, so the endorsement of their statement in no way reflects their individual opinions about the ensuing violence in Palestine and Israel," the group told the student paper. "As an organization, we want to express our empathy and solidarity for all the victims who have been affected by the violence in the region."
Danielle Mikaelian, a Harvard law student who sits on the board of one of the students groups who signed the document, also said she did not see the statement before her group signed it. She apologized roughly 48 hours afterward, and said she was resigning from her position in the group.
"I am sorry for the pain this caused. My organization did not have a formal process and I didn’t even see the statement until we had signed on," Mikaelian stated on X Tuesday evening. She added that the student group had withdrawn its signature on the document.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay responded to the student groups' letter Tuesday by condemning the violence and distancing the university from the document.
"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," Gay said in a statement.
Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee did not immediately return a request for comment.
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Fox News' Kassy Dillon contributed to this report.