Harvard president meets with anti-Israel group over divesting from Israel's 'ongoing genocide'
Alan Garber recently met with Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP) to discuss the group’s demands, including that the university divest from companies that have connections to Israel.
The Harvard Crimson reported that the meeting, which occurred on Sept. 6, took place inside a university building while over 80 protesters conducted a demonstration outside.
Harvard University’s President Alan Garber recently met with the anti-Israel student organization, Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), to discuss the group’s demands, including that the university divest from companies that have connections to Israel.
The Harvard Crimson reported that the meeting, which occurred on Sept. 6, took place inside the Smith Campus Center while over 80 protesters conducted a demonstration outside.
“In addition to discussing technical details of Harvard’s endowment,” a HOOP member who was reportedly present in the meeting said, “we urged Harvard to reconcile the gap between its so-called commitment to human rights and where we know its money is really going: in companies complicit in suffering and death, particularly in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
The meeting was part of the negotiations between the Harvard administration and pro-Palestine students who set up an encampment on campus this spring. Through the negotiations, the administration agreed to meet with HOOP to discuss the group’s demands.
Campus Reform reported in May that the deal struck between the pro-Hamas protesters and the Harvard administration included a provision that the demonstrators would meet with President Garber to discuss the possible creation of a Palestine studies center at the school.
However, HOOP maintains that simply being able to meet with the university administration is not sufficient. Instead, the group says it will continue demonstrating until the university divests from Israel.
“No matter what the University says or does, our demands have always been crystal clear: Disclose and divest,” one HOOP member told The Harvard Crimson. “These meetings were never the end goal of our campaign.”
“They’ll continue to hear us for the rest of the f*****g semester,” the HOOP member continued.
Campus Reform reported last month that members of HOOP were not content with the appointment of Garber to be Harvard’s president, contending that Garber had negotiated with the pro-Palestine activists “in bad faith.”
“Since day 1, Garber has only ever engaged in bad faith with students protesting this genocide, choosing to restrict protest, sanction students, and suspend our organizations instead of listening to members of the Harvard community who are mourning loss and are enraged at the institutions role in this violence,” HOOP wrote in a statement.
Campus Reform has also reported that Harvard put 10 graduate students on academic probation due to their ties to the pro-Hamas encampment earlier this year. Reportedly, HOOP was involved in the organization and establishment of the encampment as well.
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
