The student government of Harvard Law School passed a resolution on Friday accusing Israel of committing an ongoing “genocide of Palestinians” and calling on the Harvard Management Company to divest from all “securities, endowments, mutual funds, and other monetary instruments” associated with Israel’s alleged crimes.
The resolution made no mention of Hamas, nor did it refer to the October 7 attacks that initiated the ongoing war between Israel and the jihadist group. It passed 12-4, with three abstentions. The vote was cast anonymously, and the student government has since removed the names and email addresses of all its current members.
Following the resolution’s passage, two members of the student government resigned in protest. Regina De Nigris and Cameron Adkins, in a resignation letter cited by The Harvard Crimson, wrote that they “strongly disagree with the resolution being considered by the Student Government” and accused the body of violating its own policies by conducting the vote anonymously and declining to make time for student input.
Responding to criticism about the resolution’s timing, the body’s co-president said, “The situation is urgent, and we feel compelled to act now.” Agrawal “did not explain why a resolution had not been introduced since the Israel-Hamas war began in October,” according to the Crimson.
The Harvard Law School Jewish Students’ Association released a statement denouncing the resolution, which it described as “singling out the only Jewish state,” adding, “This student government does not represent us nor many of the hundreds we represent.”
Harvard has been at the center of controversy since Oct 7
Harvard Law School has been at the epicenter of controversy over American universities’ responses to the developments in the Middle East since hours after Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, killing 1,200, taking 240 hostages, and sparking the ongoing war between Israel and the terror group and its allies.
A statement released on October 8, signed by 26 student groups, held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” In the months that followed, the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce opened an investigation into antisemitism at the university.
After a hearing in which the university’s president, Claudine Gay, said that calls for genocide were not inherently against Harvard’s policies — comments for which she and other university presidents were widely criticized — Gay was ultimately forced to resign, dogged by plagiarism allegations that surfaced in the wake of scrutiny following the congressional hearing.