Havard sets up task force to protect pro-Hamas students from consequences

Harvard University will establish a task force to shield students who supported the now-infamous statement blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks.

Harvard University will establish a task force to shield students who supported the now-infamous statement blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks. 

The task force was announced on Oct. 24, in an email from Dean of Students Thomas Dunne to students who had been doxxed, obtained by Harvard student newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

The task force is comprised of the Dean of Students office, along with Harvard University Information Technology, the Harvard University Police Department, Counseling and Mental Health Service, the Office of General Counsel, the Mignone Center for Career Success, the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, and the Office of Undergraduate Education.

It will lend support to students experiencing doxxing, harrassment, and security concerns, after news reports revealed the names of student group leaders who signed the “Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups.” The letter also said that the career services center is “reaching out to employers independently to vouch for students and to discredit the doxxed profiles.”

The statement is still public on Harvard’s Palestine Solidarity Committee Instagram page, but the names of the student groups have been removed. The statement was also removed from Google Docs on Oct. 14. Multiple student groups and leaders have rescinded their support, including Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream, the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, the Harvard Islamic Society, and Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo. 

The task force will operate until Nov. 3. at which point it will “reassess its efforts.”