At Harvard, battle to know what to say about Hamas attacks

After a group of students blamed Israel for the violence, Lawrence Summers, a former university president, condemned the leaders for not having spoken out.

Days after the killing of George Floyd and Russia's war against Ukraine, Harvard and other universities have issued statements affirming their solidarity with the victims. In the immediate aftermath of Hamas attacks in Israel – in which attackers killed women and children – Harvard remained silent even as criticism mounted over an open letter from a student coalition.

The letter, from Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups, says it holds "the Israeli regime fully responsible for all the violence that is taking place." »

The negative reaction to this letter turned Harvard's silence into a roar.

Monday, Lawrence H Summers, a former Treasury secretary and former Harvard president, condemned the university leadership for failing to denounce the pro-Palestinian letter.

« In my nearly 50 years of affiliation with @Harvard, I have never been more disillusioned and alienated than today,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Harvard's silence, coupled with the student coalition's letter, he said, "allowed Harvard to appear, at best, neutral in the face of acts of terrorism against the Jewish state of Israel." »

On Monday evening, and again with more force on Tuesday, Harvard spoke up. Its president, Claudine Gay, issued two statements, ultimately condemning “the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas” as “heinous.” A spokesperson said Dr. Gay was not available for comment.

The debate over Israel and the plight of the Palestinians is one of the most controversial on the campus for decades and has scathing university officials who have attempted to moderate or appease different groups.

But Dr. Summers' pointed criticism has raised questions about the obligation of universities to weigh in on difficult political issues. A famous 1967 statement from the University of Chicago called on institutions to remain neutral on political issues and social, asserting that a university “is the home and sponsor of criticism; he is not himself the critic. But over the years, students have often and successfully pressured their administrations to take stands on issues such as police brutality, global warming and war.

Dr. Summers said in an interview that he could understand the arguments for the university's neutrality in political conflicts, but that Harvard had waived that prerogative when speaking out on many other issues.

< figure class="img-sz-medium css-d754w4 e1g7ppur0" aria-label="media" role="group">ImageClaudine Gay, president of Harvard University.Credit...Steven Senne/Associated Press

“When “You fly the Ukrainian flag on the Harvard construction site, when you make clear, vivid and strong statements in response to the murder of George Floyd,” he said declared, "you have decided not to pursue a policy of neutrality."

But the Harvard controversy is "a moment to reflect on the virtues of neutrality," said Tom Ginsburg, faculty director of the newly created Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Ginsburg said she looked at 17 major universities and found that all but two had issued a statement on Ukraine. (The University of Chicago did not.)

"No one had...