Brandeis Center Says Harvard Celebrated Prof Who “Marginalized” Jewish Israeli Students

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is alleging that Harvard University is celebrating a professor who “marginalized and belittled” three Jewish Israeli students for referring to Israel as a “Jewish democracy” in their group project.

According to documents obtained by the Journal, the Brandeis Center sent a letter to the university in March alleging that earlier that month, Professor Marshall Ganz, who is Jewish, called the three students into his office, asking them to remove any mention of Israel being a “liberal Jewish democracy” from their project. The three students’ project was a plan to “unite a majority of diverse and moderate Israelis to strengthen Israel’s liberal and Jewish democracy.” The students initially attempted to rephrase it to say, “liberal democracy in the Jewish homeland,” but Ganz also disapproved of this description. The professor specifically took issue with the use of the words “Jewish state” to describe Israel, which he said was analogous to describing the United States as a white supremacist, the Brandeis Center alleged.

Ganz later emailed the three students to tell them that it was unacceptable for the students to describe Israel as a “liberal Jewish democracy,” stating that a lot of the students in the class found such a description for Israel “deeply offensive.” The three students explained how they viewed Ganz’s words as demeaning because to “many Israelis like us, the idea of Jewish democracy is not just an idea. It is deeply woven within our identities as Israelis and as Jews” and that they are essentially being told to “forego opportunities available to all the other students in the class.” Ganz replied by warning them of “consequences.”

The three students did present their work to “a small working group” and “received universal praise,” the Brandeis Center documents state, but Ganz did not select their project to be presented in front of the entire class. Instead, he directed his teaching fellows to lead a discussion session on “Palestinian solidarity.” During this session, an anti-Israel student blamed every Israeli for Palestinian riots in the West Bank city of Huwara, where she said a Palestinian was killed after providing aid to earthquake victims in Turkey. The anti-Israel student, the Brandeis Center alleged, “invited the other students and teaching staff to demonstrate support for Palestinians suffering at the hands of Israelis by posing for a class picture wearing keffiyehs (a traditional Middle Eastern scarf/headdress often worn to demonstrate Palestinian solidarity). The picture was taken at the end of the class, with many students and TFs wearing the keffiyehs provided by the student, who had brought them with her to class, suggesting she was aware ahead of time how events would unfold.”

After class, the three students asked Ganz if they could have the opportunity in class to respond to the anti-Israel student; at this point, Ganz angrily replied that the three students “caused enough problems already” and would need to make their case elsewhere.

Documents from the Brandeis Center further show that in June, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf accepted the findings of a third-party investigator who concluded that Ganz “more likely than not” engaged in behavior that violated the school’s free speech and anti-bias policies. And then, on October 30, the Brandeis Center argued in a letter to the university that Harvard has not taken requisite action since June; while Elmendorf did issue an apology to the three students for Ganz’s behavior and said that personnel decisions would be made, the Brandeis Center noted that the university has not issued a public statement on the matter. Additionally, the Brandeis Center pointed out that Ganz was recently lauded for his civil rights work in the most recent issue of the Harvard Gazette.

“The professor’s work on behalf of minorities in the sixties may be admirable, but publicly featuring him in this fashion, mere months after he was found to have created a hostile environment for his students, suggest the pledge made to the Students that the university would fully address the violations were mere empty words,” the Brandeis Center wrote. “Harvard, it seems, has no genuine intent to address the anti-Semitism on its campus, choosing instead to publicly celebrate a professor who recently subjected Jewish and Israeli students to bias and discrimination.”

They concluded the letter by urging the university to issue a public statement and implement training for the campus community “so that they are able to recognize anti-Semitism.”

“Harvard leadership has allowed its campus to run amuck with anti-Semitism for far too long,” Brandeis Center Founder and Chairman Kenneth Marcus said in a statement. “This outrageous, irresponsible and illegal failure of Harvard’s administration to address even undisputed anti-Semitism has paved the way for the problems they are now facing. It is high time the university provides the leadership it is required under the law.”

A spokesperson from the Harvard Kennedy School said in a statement to the Journal, “Harvard Kennedy School takes any allegation of bias or discrimination very seriously. In this case, the School brought in an experienced outside fact-finder to determine what happened and to consider the facts in the context of the School’s and Harvard University’s policies. Dean Douglas Elmendorf accepted the findings and took action responsive to the allegation. The School does not disclose the details of personnel issues.”

The spokesperson added: “Dean Elmendorf joins Harvard President Claudine Gay in rejecting hate in all forms, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. As does all of Harvard, the Kennedy School stands for free expression and academic freedom while standing firmly against any form of discrimination.”

Ganz did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.