We’ve been reporting on the awful responses from college students around America, with a disturbing number of them openly supporting the horrific Hamas terror attacks against Israel that occurred Saturday, leaving thousands dead and a region at war.
Probably the most infamous of these statements was the one issued by over 30 Harvard University "Palestinian Solidarity" student groups that basically said Israel was at fault for the terrorist strikes.
We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.
When the university’s brass didn’t speak out about the despicable statement, Harvard President Emeritus and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers was flat-out disgusted. He took to the social media platform X to say, “In nearly 50 years of @Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today.” Eventually, administrators did make several statements, but they were lukewarm and did not directly condemn the students.
Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife Batia have seen enough, so they headed for the exits and are resigning their posts on the executive board of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government:
Ofer, the shipping and chemicals magnate whose net worth was valued by Forbes at $14 billion as of Thursday, said that he and his wife were quitting the board, according to the Hebrew-language news site TheMarker.
Ofer and his wife, Batia, who is also a member of the executive board, said they resigned “in protest of the shocking and insensitive response by the president of the university, who did not condemn the letter by student organizations who blamed Israel for the massacres.”
The Ofers made their estimated $14 billion fortune in chemicals and shipping, but considering their resignations, it doesn't look like any of their funds will be going to the Harvard endowment any time soon. (Harvard will be okay; their endowment is close to $52 billion.)
The Ofer family, among Israel’s wealthiest, primarily amassed their wealth through the late Sammy Ofer’s ownership stake in Israel Chemicals and the cargo shipping service, ZIM. Idan and Batia Ofer currently hold a majority stake in Israel Corp. and Kenon Holdings, which was a spin-off from Israel Corp.
The letter was bad enough, but the response by school President Claudine Gay and the administration further enraged Summers and the Ofers. The belated statement did not even explicitly condemn Hamas nor mention the students:
We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway.
Gay tried to clean things up a bit with a second statement Tuesday, but it didn't do much to mollify critics:
Gay published a follow-up statement on Tuesday stating: “As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.”
“Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region,” Gay wrote in her statement.
Summers and the Ofers weren't the only ones who were ticked off—as our Becky Noble reported Thursday, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wants to know who these students were so he can make sure never to hire them:
He tweeted on Tuesday that he had been contacted by "a number of CEOs" wanting to know if Harvard would disclose the names of students who belong to the campus organizations that recently signed onto a letter that stated that these student groups held "the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence." The reason behind wanting the students' names made public? So these CEOs can be sure they never hire any students involved in these organizations.
One of the more controversial reactions to the student statement is the doxing of its signatories by the conservative media group "Accuracy in Media," who drove a truck around Harvard Square Wednesday revealing their identities:
NEW: Harvard students are freaking out after a truck is driving around the school, displaying names of students who allegedly signed a letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ terror attacks.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 12, 2023
Say it with me: Hamas Harvard.
The digital screen on the truck says “Harvard’s Leading… pic.twitter.com/B7g7vyN8Wp
The digital screen on the truck says “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites” and named the 34 students who claimed Israel was “entirely responsible” for the Hamas attacks. The truck was launched by Accuracy in Media who said it’s “incredibly important to know who the hateful antisemites are in our society. And it’s important for people to know that their actions have consequences.”
Meanwhile, one of the brilliant minds behind the letter is Josh Willcox, a leader of the Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the son of perfume magnate Jo Malone. Why does it always seem that behind every radical cause, there's some rich kid who's just trying to make a name for themselves regardless of the morality of their crusade?
JUST IN: Perfume giant Jo Malone's son was reportedly behind the letter at Harvard that blamed Israel for the Hamas terror attacks.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 12, 2023
Her son, Josh Willcox, is one of the leaders of the Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.
Malone spoke out about the war in the Middle… pic.twitter.com/nMd8pQ9HB2
Malone spoke out about the war in the Middle East but failed to condemn her son, as reported by the Daily Mail.
"We as a family are heartbroken by the events of recent days and strongly condemn all forms of violence."
"The abhorrent attack on innocent people on Saturday in Israel is beyond what any family should endure."
These students are now learning what it means to be held accountable for their own actions as a pro-Israel group is driving a truck around Harvard's campus, displaying the names of those who signed the letter.
If anything good does come out of any of this, it's that maybe some of those young people will learn something from their over-priced education after all: actions do indeed have consequences.
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