A group of pro-Palestinian protesters can be seen surrounding a Jewish student at Harvard University while shouting “Shame! Shame!” at him in video footage that has gone viral on social media.
The protesters can be seen holding their keffiyehs in front of the student and try to prevent him from leaving.
The pro-murder, pro-kidnapping mob is targeting and harassing Jewish students at @Harvard. pic.twitter.com/fKVewqj7wC
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 1, 2023
The footage is reportedly from an October 18 “die-in” held by pro-Palestinian protesters on campus that was dubbed as “Stop the genocide in Gaza.” The Harvard Crimson reported at the time: “During the die-in, a man began to film demonstrator’s faces. Within minutes, he was escorted out by protest organizers, who blocked his camera with their keffiyehs — traditional scarves worn by Palestinians that have come to symbolize Palestinian nationalism. Demonstrators yelled ‘shame’ at the disruptor as he left.” Video footage from New England Cable News (NECN) appeared to show this:
Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar addressed the incident in an October 24 statement that said in part: “The pro-Palestinian demonstration that crossed from Cambridge onto our campus last Wednesday, which included a troubling confrontation between one of our MBA students and a subset of the protestors, has left many of our students shaken. Reports have been filed with HUPD [Harvard University Police Department] and the FBI, the facts are being evaluated, and it will be some time before we learn the results of an investigation. But the protest has raised questions about how we address freedom of speech, hateful speech that goes against our community values, and security and safety for everyone at the School.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “This isn’t activism — this is intimidation and incitement against Jewish students at @Harvard. This video makes me cringe. This video makes me explode. Administrators at universities across the country need to act URGENTLY against the raging antisemitism on our campuses.”
This isn't activism — this is intimidation and incitement against Jewish students at @Harvard. This video makes me cringe. This video makes me explode. Administrators at universities across the country need to act URGENTLY against the raging antisemitism on our campuses. https://t.co/eNLpRtkLYg
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 1, 2023
The university declined to comment to the Journal on the matter.
Harvard has come under fire after a letter signed by more than 30 student groups on campus blamed Israel for the October 7 Hamas terror attack.
On October 27, Harvard President Claudine Gay announced that the university is establishing an advisory board dedicated to combating antisemitism. “Antisemitism has a very long and shameful history at Harvard,” Gay said at a Harvard Hillel Shabbat dinner. “For years, this University has done too little to confront its continuing presence. No longer.”
