In a joint statement issued by 31 Harvard student organizations, including the university's Amnesty International affiliate, Israel has been blamed for the ongoing conflict with Hamas,
which has resulted in over 700 casualties. The organizations expressed their condemnation of Israel's actions in a statement titled "Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine."
The student organizations argue that the recent attacks by Hamas should not be viewed in isolation and point to the Israeli government's policies, which they claim have subjected Palestinians to living conditions akin to an "open-air prison" for more than two decades. They firmly hold the Israeli government responsible for the ongoing violence.
This statement follows a recent controversy at Harvard involving a professor who apologized for suggesting that the Hamas attack was a diversion from former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's alleged corruption.
The Harvard student groups also echo a common narrative on the left, accusing Israel of imposing apartheid on Palestinians. They argue that Israeli violence has been a defining factor in Palestinian life for the past 75 years, citing land seizures, airstrikes, detentions, checkpoints, family separations, and targeted killings as examples of the Palestinian experience.
Despite the high number of casualties in Israel, including American citizens, the student organizations called for an end to the suffering of Palestinians, emphasizing the need for the Harvard community to take action against what they view as ongoing Palestinian oppression.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee, one of the groups involved in the statement, has organized various events related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, including protests, "Apartheid Week," and a "Boycott Israel Trek." They also claim credit for persuading the Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper, to support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
The signatories to the statement represent a diverse range of student organizations at Harvard, including the African American Resistance Organization, Amnesty International, "Harvard Act on a Dream," Muslim and South Asian student groups from the Kennedy and Chan schools, the Harvard Islamic Society, and Harvard Jews for Liberation.
The statement has garnered criticism from some quarters, with Robert P. George, a professor at Princeton University, expressing his dismay on social media. He questioned the position taken by these organizations, stating that "Something is deeply, deeply wrong in academia."
This controversy comes in the aftermath of a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, resulting in significant casualties on both sides. The conflict has intensified, with Israel launching a counteroffensive in response to the attacks.
The situation is complex and volatile, with international efforts underway to broker a ceasefire and bring an end to the violence. As the conflict continues, opinions on the root causes and responsibility for the violence remain highly divisive and contested. Photo by Hoheit (¿!), Wikimedia commons.