Rabbi sensationally QUITS Harvard’s antisemitism taskforce because ‘the ideology that grips far too many students and faculty … is evil’: ‘Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil’

• David Wolpe was appointed to the eight-member Harvard antisemitism taskforce announced by President Claudine Gay on October 27
• Wolpe on Thursday said he could no longer stand the ‘evil’ ideology ‘that grips far too many of the students and faculty’
• He said he realized he could not ‘make the sort of difference I had hoped’ – saying antisemitism was ‘endemic’ and decrying ‘herd mentality’ on campuses

A high-profile rabbi appointed to the eight-member Harvard antisemitism task force quit on Thursday, saying he could no longer stand the ‘evil’ ideology ‘that grips far too many of the students and faculty’.

David Wolpe, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School and the ADL’s rabbinic fellow, said he realized he could not ‘make the sort of difference I had hoped’ – saying antisemitism was ‘endemic’ and decrying ‘herd mentality’.

‘We are at a moment when the toxicity of intellectual slovenliness has been laid bare for all to see,’ he said.

‘Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities, is a vast and continuing catastrophe.’

He had been asked to join the panel announced by Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, on October 27.

His resignation came two days after Gay and two other university presidents – MIT and the University of Pennsylvania – gave stuttering testimony before a Congressional committee, equivocating on whether calls for the genocide of Jews would be considered hate speech and harassment.

Harvard has been rocked by pro-Palestine protests since the October 7 terror attack by Hamas. Demonstrators are seen on October 14 at the university

Students at Harvard are seen waving Palestinian flags on October 14 – one week after the Hamas massacre

David Wolpe, a rabbi and visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School, resigned from the university’s antisemitism taskforce on Thursday

At the time, Gay was reeling from criticism of her slow response to students defending and legitimizing Hamas’ October 7 terror attack.

‘Antisemitism has a very long and shameful history at Harvard,’ said Gay, announcing the taskforce.

‘For years, this University has done too little to confront its continuing presence. No longer.’

But on Thursday, Wolpe said he had been dismayed by the attitudes he found.

‘As of today I have resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard,’ wrote Wolpe on X.

‘Without rehashing all of the obvious reasons that have been endlessly adumbrated online, and with great respect for the members of the committee, the short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped.’

Wolpe said he found Gay to be ‘a kind and thoughtful person’, and most students to be industrious and focussed.

But, he warned, there was an ‘evil’ ideology which permeated Harvard.

Protesters encircle a man (with arms up), moving through the yard during the October 18 protest at Harvard University, holding up keffiyehs (scarfs) before he slips into a nearby building

Newly surfaced video shows a confrontation at a recent demonstration on Harvard University’s campus, where pro-Palestinian protesters surrounded a student chanting ‘shame’

Wolpe warned of the ‘evil’ ideology at Harvard, which said Israel did not have the right to exist

‘The system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil,’ he said.

‘Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil. Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities, is a vast and continuing catastrophe.

‘Denying Israel the self-determination as a Jewish nation accorded unthinkingly to others is endemic, and evil.’

Wolpe said that the problem was greater than one university, or one committee.

He said there needed to be a concerted effort to stamp out the poisonous ideology and rhetoric.

‘This is the task of educating a generation, and also a vast unlearning,’ he said.

‘Part of the problem is a simple herd mentality – people screaming slogans whose meaning and implication they know nothing of, or not wishing to be disliked by taking an unpopular position.

‘Some of it is the desire to achieve social status by being the sole or greatest victim.

‘Some of it is simple, old fashioned Jew hatred, that ugly arrow in the quiver of dark hearts for millennia.’

Wolpe pointed out that his resignation came on the first night of Hanukkah – the Jewish festival of light, symbolizing the Biblical-time story of a Menorah in the Temple remaining lit for eight days, despite there being only enough oil to keep the lamp lit for one night.

Wolpe said it was time to find ‘the motivation to light the initial candle, to ensure the continuity and vitality of tradition in each generation.’

He added: ‘Dispute but also create. Build the institutions you value, don’t merely attack those you denigrate.

‘We are at a moment when the toxicity of intellectual slovenliness has been laid bare for all to see. Time to kindle the first candle.’

On Thursday, Congress launched an investigation into Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania following their presidents’ failure to condemn students calling for a Jewish genocide.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee will probe the elite schools with the ‘full force of subpoena power,’ after presidents Claudine Gay, Sally Kornbluth, and Liz Magill’s astonishing words and actions this week

Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania

The House Education and the Workforce Committee will probe the elite schools with the ‘full force of subpoena power,’ after presidents Claudine Gay, Sally Kornbluth, and Liz Magill’s astonishing words and actions this week.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, who quizzed the three leaders on Tuesday, called the presidents as morally bankrupt, and swore to hold the schools accountable.

She said on Thursday: ‘After this week’s pathetic and morally bankrupt testimony by university presidents when answering my questions, the Education and Workforce Committee is launching an official Congressional investigation with the full force of subpoena power into Penn, MIT, & Harvard and others.

‘We will use our full Congressional authority to hold these schools accountable for their failure on the global stage.’ 

Chairwoman Virginia Foxx announced the formal investigation against Harvard, UPenn, and MIT.

‘The testimony we received earlier this week from Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth about the responses of Harvard, UPenn, and MIT to the rampant antisemitism displayed on their campuses by students and faculty was absolutely unacceptable,’ she said.

‘Committee members have deep concerns with their leadership and their failure to take steps to provide Jewish students the safe learning environment they are due under law. 

‘Given those institutional and personal failures, the Committee is opening a formal investigation into the learning environments at Harvard, UPenn, and MIT and their policies and disciplinary procedures. 

‘This investigation will include substantial document requests, and the Committee will not hesitate to utilize compulsory measures including subpoenas if a full response is not immediately forthcoming. 

‘The disgusting targeting and harassment of Jewish students is not limited to these institutions, and other universities should expect investigations as well, as their litany of similar failures has not gone unnoticed.’ 

Rep. Elise Stefanik said: ‘We will use our full Congressional authority to hold these schools accountable for their failure on the global stage’

During the five-hour hearing, Gay, Magill and Kornbluth were questioned over their response to antisemitism on their campuses.

Stefanik demanded the leaders outline whether student calls for ‘intifada’ or ‘the genocide of Jews’ violate their codes of conduct on bullying or harassment. 

All three refused to class the antisemitic slogans as harassment.

They instead said they are committed to preserving free speech on campus. 

Gay, Magill and Kornbluth were all heralded for their diversity and inclusion when they became presidents at their respective institutional helms. 

Now, all three university presidents are facing fierce calls for their immediate resignations – from students, donors, politicians, and alumni alike. 

Their failure to condemn genocidal calls against Jews – and protect students against antisemitism – will now be disciplined at the highest level. 

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro condemned Magill’s comments.

He said: ‘That was an unacceptable statement from the president of Penn.

‘Frankly, I thought her comments were absolutely shameful. 

‘It should not be hard to condemn genocide.’ 

Senator Doug Mastriano called for Magill’s immediate resignation on Thursday.

He wrote: ‘Your answer, combined with your demeanor (the smirk you wore on your face while delivering it) raised serious concerns about your personal commitment and the university’s willingness and ability to enact and advance policies to prevent antisemitic activity at the University of Pennsylvania.’  

Senator Bob Casey said in response to Magill’s congressional appearance: ‘President Magill’s comments yesterday were offensive, but equally offensive was what she didn’t say.

Claudine Gay, Liz Magill, Dr. Pamela Nadell, Professor of History and Jewish Studies at American University, and Sally Kornbluth, testifying on Tuesday

‘The right to free speech is fundamental, but calling for the genocide of Jews is antisemitic and harassment, full stop.’

Senator John Fetterman also described the testimony as ‘a significant fail.’

He wrote: ‘There is no ‘both sides-ism’ and it isn’t ‘free speech,’ it’s simply hate speech. It was embarrassing for a venerable Pennsylvania university, and it should be reflexive for leaders to condemn antisemitism and stand up for the Jewish community or any community facing this kind of invective.’

Alex Immerman, who attended Penn’s Wharton Business School and is now a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said that he demanded his 2023 donation back from the college.

He wrote: ‘Yesterday I called Penn and asked for a refund on my 2023 donation. I have loved Penn for as long as I can remember. 

‘It prepared me for my career and gave me lifelong friends, my wife, and incredible memories. But I can no longer support the moral bankruptcy of its leadership.’ 

Meanwhile, Harvard University’s student newspaper slammed President Claudine Gay, saying she ‘fanned the flamed of controversy’ with her contentious statements on antisemitism. 

The Harvard Crimson highlighted the congressional hearing where members demanded Gay’s resignation and the ferocious backlash she has received since. 

The leadership of Harvard Hillel, the University’s Jewish center, also called her remarks ‘profoundly shocking,’ expressing their distrust in the president’s ability to protect Jewish students at the Ivy League university.

The Crimson has also called out the university for allowing pro-Palestine protests led by unrecognized student groups to flourish on campus. 

The protests have aggressively backed Palestine using chants such as ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘globalize the intifada.’ 

After severe backlash and a donor boycott, Gay released a statement on Wednesday insisting she’d been misunderstood during her Congressional testimony. 

‘There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students,’ Gay said. 

‘Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account.’

The university paper also exposed unrecognized pro-Palestinian student groups holding protests on campus. 

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