Harvard University is embroiled in a new controversy over anti-Semitism following the online sharing of an offensive cartoon by a group of professors.
The caricature, originally from 1967, depicts a hand adorned with the dollar symbol inside a Magein Dovid, wielding nooses around figures resembling Muhammad Ali and former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
According to reports from the Harvard Crimson student newspaper, the cartoon was reposted by the group “Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine” after being shared by student groups, including the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Africa and African American Resistance Organization. The imagery, which evokes deeply troubling stereotypes, has sparked outrage and renewed concerns about the university’s stance on combating anti-Semitism.
In a statement, the student groups defended their decision to share the poster, citing it as a symbol of solidarity with those affected by ‘apartheid and occupation.’ However, the move has intensified accusations that Harvard fails to adequately protect Jewish students from discrimination and hatred on campus.
Rabbi David Wolpe, a scholar at Harvard Divinity School who resigned from the school’s anti-Semitism advisory committee in December, expressed dismay over the incident, questioning, “Is there no limit?” Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Divinity School student suing the university for discrimination, echoed these sentiments, condemning the portrayal of a “Jewish hand controlling black minds” as explicitly anti-Semitic.
In response to mounting backlash, the group of professors responsible for sharing the cartoon issued an apology, acknowledging the offensive nature of the imagery. “It has come to our attention that a post featuring outdated caricatures, which used offensive tropes, was linked to our account,” the group stated on Instagram. “We removed the content as soon as we became aware of it. We apologize for the harm these images have caused and do not endorse them in any way.”
The incident comes on the heels of former Harvard president Claudine Gay’s resignation following a scandal surrounding her handling of anti-Semitism on campus, further highlighting the university’s ongoing struggle to address issues of discrimination and intolerance within its academic community. – i24 News
Pesach is around the corner. We will soon hear from worldwide antisemites about blood libels baked into the matzos.
How much will a pound of hand shmura Matzah cost this year?!
Consider that Harvard takes hundreds of millions from Qatar and other dubious sources, AND disposed of Claudine Gay because of financial pressure, its rather hypocritical for them to accuse anyone else of financial motives.