ADL 'deeply disappointed' in Harvard's decision to cave to anti-Semitic demands
'Like too many other universities across the country, Harvard is now rewarding and giving in to students who have violated its codes of conduct.'
Harvard University Interim President Alan Garber recently met with the head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) after nearly three weeks of a pro-Hamas encampment on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which also coincided with the school maintaining an ‘F’ grade from the organization concerning anti-Semitism.
As reported by The Harvard Crimson, President Garber met with ADL CEO Jonthan Greenblatt in a long meeting to discuss efforts to combat anti-Semitism both on and off campus..
Greenblatt praised Garber later that day for refusing to yield to protesters.
“ADL welcomes [Garber’s] decision not to negotiate with those in the encampment who violate the university code of conduct,” Greenblatt posted to X on Friday, May 10. “We look forward to working with Harvard to ensure all students, including Jewish and Israeli, feel welcomed on campus.”
[RELATED: Over 10 people decline invite to speak at Harvard Class Day]
Greenblatt was also spotted leaving Garber’s office by students in the encampment, named the “Liberated Zone” by protesters.
“[H]ours after been spotted meeting with top administration, notable anti-Palestinian racist & president of the widely-discredited ADL Jonathan Greenblatt congratulates Garber for suspending students before EVER coming to the negotiating table,” Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine wrote on Instagram.
In a recent report card, ADL gave Harvard an ‘F’ grade for its handling of anti-Semitism. The report cites various anti-Semitic incidents, including flyers depicting Israeli hostages being defaced with language such as “kidnap the Zionists’ ‘ and a 1960s anti-Semitic cartoon that was allegedly shared online by two student groups and republished by Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.
After Garber’s recent decision to negotiate with the encampment protesters on Tuesday, however, the ADL criticized the university’s course of action.
Student protesters ultimately agreed to end their encampment on May 14 after Harvard reinstated 22 students placed on leave of absence and offered a meeting with members of the Harvard Management Company regarding divestment from Israel.
“ADL is deeply disappointed and believes that Harvard is absolving behavior that has fueled a hostile and threatening campus for Jewish students,” the organization stated the following day after the encampment ended. “Like too many other universities across the country, Harvard is now rewarding and giving in to students who have violated its codes of conduct.”
[RELATED: Harvard negotiates with Hamas-endorsed students to end occupation, rescinds suspensions]
Six Jewish students filed a lawsuit against Harvard in January, alleging that the Ivy League institution violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by enabling and directly ignoring “severe” anti-Semitism on its campus.
In 2022, Greenblatt released a novel, It Could Happen Here: Why America Is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable―And How We Can Stop It.
Follow Emma Dayton on X.
