Published on January 5, 2024, 1:44 am

In a recent surprising development, Orthodox Jewish leaders have outspokenly criticized The Harvard Crimson – the student newspaper of the renowned Harvard University – for what they describe as ‘whitewashing’ antisemitism over several op-eds published toward the end of 2023.

Harvard had been under scrutiny for its response to campus antisemitism post Hamas’ horrifying terrorist attacks on October 7th, in Israel. The university was put further into focus when its then-president, Claudine Gay, during a congressional hearing said that calls for genocide against Jewish people may not necessarily violate Harvard’s harassment policies – an argument greatly dependent on context. She later resigned amidst a plagiarism scandal while concerns about Harvard’s negligence against rising antisemitism continue to loom.

Toward the end of December, The Harvard Crimson released a package named “Antisemitism at Harvard”, which consisted of five opinion pieces out of which three highlighted warnings against “weaponizing of antisemitism” aimed at pro-Palestine protestors. In one such piece it was claimed that safety amongst Jews—in both Israel and outside — is directly linked with Palestinian liberation. Another op-ed by a former executive director of Harvard Hillel perceived the scare around antisemitism being exaggerated as a tool to cover for Israel’s contested policies regarding Palestine.

However, some of these essays did acknowledge the profound pain felt by Israelis and American Jews in light of the October 7th attacks carried out by Hamas in southern Israel, where terrorists killed more than 1,200 men, women and children while carrying out horrific atrocities like rape.

Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values which represents over 2,500 Orthodox Jewish rabbis involved in American public policy referred to these articles surfaced by The Harvard Crimson as being part of academia’s attempt to “whitewash antisemitism.”

A spike has been registered in antisemitic incidents across the U.S. following the October 7th incident, as recorded by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). ADL’s tracker found explicit or implicit support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel being celebrated at at least 109 anti-Israel rallies following the terrorist attacks.

Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs at Agudath Israel of America too expressed his condemnation regarding these pieces. He views them as reflecting a bigger problem while ignoring crucial facts and feeding into animosity against Israel and Jews. Sahar Tartak, a Jewish student at Yale University and editor-in-chief at The Yale Free Press, claimed that much of the series contained viewpoints from Jews supporting assaults on Jews.

Interestingly, when The Crimson ran an op-ed about defining antisemitism it chose a scholar who opposes the most mainstream definition of antisemitism put forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. Derek J. Penslar called other definitions more conducive to difficult yet necessary discussions within the Harvard community hence indirectly condoning antisemitism through applying double standards towards Israel.

As this issue unfolds within academia and its coverage in journalistic platforms, it serves as real news for everyone to keep ourselves updated with or as trusted news that signifies the importance of discerning nuances when it comes to global politics – especially those involving human rights issues viewed through a Christian worldview.