Co-chair of Harvard task force against ‘Anti-Muslim bias’ once appeared to excuse anti-Israel terrorism

The co-chair of Harvard University’s task force against “anti-Muslim bias” faced criticism for signing a 2021 statement seemingly approving of anti-Israel terrorism and strongly attacking Israel, accusing it of imposing “apartheid.” 

Ali Asani is a Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard. He is also co-chair of Harvard’s “Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Bias,” which is charged with helping to “identify actions that can be taken to address bias” and submitting a “report and set of recommendations to the President.”

“The President is committed to bringing the recommendations [made by the Task Force] to the members of the Academic Leadership Council, including the deans, on a rolling basis so that they might consider, refine, and implement interventions within the Schools,” Harvard states.

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However, Asani has come under fire recently for signing a statement in 2021 criticizing the Jewish State and stating his support “for the Palestinian liberation struggle”, according to a May 28 article in The Washington Free Beacon. 

“As US-based scholars who oppose racism and colonial violence in all its forms, we write to express solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and self-determination,” the letter signed by Asani states. “Israeli state violence has devastated Palestinian life through a combination of warfare, territorial theft, and violent displacement.”

“Unwavering US financial, military, and political support has fueled an apartheid system that institutionalizes the domination and repression of Palestinians,” the letter’s signatories continued.

The letter continued to defend what the signatories called “Palestinian resistance” and “Palestinian liberation.”

“Palestinians are not only denied freedom and self-determination, they are even denied the right to resist,” the letter states. “Palestinian resistance in all its forms is criminalized by Israel and the US. Every measure of self-defense by a people without a state or an army against a nuclear power backed by the US is subject to immediate censure while Israel continues its violent aggressions with impunity.”

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“Suppression of support for Palestinian liberation extends into the US academy where even scholarly criticism of Israeli human rights violations is increasingly equated with antisemitism and forbidden by law,” the signatories continue. 

The letter concludes by urging U.S. academics to support Palestinians, contending that “US-based scholars cannot be silent,” and saying: “We demand an end to US support for Israel’s apartheid regime, condemn Israeli state aggression, and affirm our support for the Palestinian liberation struggle.”

Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University and Ali Asani for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.