‘The system at Harvard… is itself evil’: Harvard Rabbi resigns from antisemitism committee after president’s testimony

Even as Harvard president Claudine Gay’s testimony at Capitol Hill has angered many calling for her resignation, Rabbi David Wolpe, a prominent scholar visiting Harvard University, on Friday resigned from the university’s antisemitism committee. In a long post on X, Wolpe said that he has resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard and attributed the events on campus and the “painfully inadequate” testimony of Harvard president for the exit.

1/3 Resigning, a Hanukkah Message: As of today I have resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard. Without rehashing all of the obvious reasons that have been endlessly adumbrated online, and with great respect for the members of the committee, the short…

— David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe) December 7, 2023

“Resigning, a Hanukkah Message: As of today I have resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard. Without rehashing all of the obvious reasons that have been endlessly adumbrated online, and with great respect for the members of the committee, the short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped,” he wrote. He said that Harvard is still a repository of extraordinary minds and important research but the system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil. “Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil. Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities, is a vast and continuing catastrophe. Denying Israel the self-determination as a Jewish nation accorded unthinkingly to others is endemic, and evil,” wrote Wolpe. In a message to students, he said build the institutions you value and don’t merely attack those you denigrate. “We are at a moment when the toxicity of intellectual slovenliness has been laid bare for all to see. Time to kindle the first candle. Create that miracle for us and all Israel — Blessing to you and Hag Urim Sameach,” he added. Wolpe resigned shortly after Harvard president Claudine Gay’s divisive congressional testimony over the university’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Although Wolpe recognised Gay as a “kind and thoughtful” person, he called her testimony-related remarks “painfully inadequate” in terms of tackling the rise in anti-semitism at Harvard and in the larger community. Gay appeared before the House Committee on Tuesday to crack down on the backlash against the university, but her testimony only fueled the controversy. When asked if a call for genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment at Harvard, Gay said such a call could violate the school’s policies “depending on the context.” The hearing, at which MIT President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill also testified, ended with members of Congress demanding Gay’s resignation. The leadership of Harvard Hillel called her remarks “profoundly shocking” and said it doesn’t trust her to protect Jewish students. Backlash over Harvard’s handling of antisemitism on campus first started after a student group, the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, posted a statement online that blamed Israel for the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October. A similar statement was also shared by students at Columbia University in New York City, and some students have had their job offers rescinded in light of the messaging. With inputs from agencies