Harvard president rejects anti-Israel coalition's latest divestment proposal

The president of Harvard University has rejected an anti-Israel group’s proposal to divest from the Jewish state.

In an Oct. 3 email to the Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), Garber informed the group that he would ultimately not call for a review of human rights violations linked to Harvard investments, which the student activist coalition proposed during a meeting on Sept. 6.

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”Although divestment was not intended to be a topic for the meeting, I confirmed Harvard’s consistent position that it has no intention of ‘divesting from Israel,’” Garber said.

”Late in our meeting you presented an alternative proposal. When I reviewed it, I found that its implications are clear,” he continued. ”Although it references a broader framework, in practice it does not differ substantially from prior demands: the proposal declares that Israel is engaged in both apartheid and genocide, that its territorial holdings are illegal, and that Harvard Management Company should undertake a process to reduce its investment exposure accordingly.”

Gaber also noted that the university “will not use its endowment funds to endorse a contested view on a complex issue that deeply divides our community,” explaining that the “reasons for avoiding such an action have been articulated for decades by my predecessors and bear repeating.”

HOOP identifies as a “coalition of Harvard students fighting for divestment, liberation, and a Free Palestine,” according to its Instagram biography.

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As noted by The Harvard Crimson, HOOP blasted President Garber in a Instagram post on Monday.

”Garber’s definition of human rights stops at Palestine,” the group wrote. “His unwillingness to engage confirms he welcomes profits from any human rights abuses Harvard is complicit in.”

”History is watching, Garber,” the group continued. “Divestment is inevitable as the movement for Palestinian liberation grows. While Israel launches terrorist attacks on Lebanon, bombards Yemen and Syria, and burns people alive in Northern Gaza, our calls must grow LOUDER.”

The Crimson also reports that HOOP declined to comment on why it shared Garber’s email nearly a month later, but did comment that, “our eyes have been on the region, just as they have always been.”