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Antisemitism Exposed


RABBI RESIGNS FROM HARVARD'S ANTISEMITISM BOARD FOLLOWING SCHOOL PRESIDENT'S
'PAINFULLY INADEQUATE TESTIMONY'


HARVARD PRESIDENT DR. CLAUDINE GAY IS FACING BACKLASH FOLLOWING A HEATED
EXCHANGE WITH REP. ELISE STEFANIK, R-N.Y.

By Joseph A. Wulfsohn Fox News
Published December 7, 2023 8:00pm EST
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A prominent rabbi announced his resignation from Harvard's antisemitism board
after the university's president offered what he described as "painfully
inadequate testimony" on Capitol Hill this week.

Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay was among university leaders called to
testify in a hearing addressing the growing antisemitism that has taken place on
college campuses since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel. Gay, along
with her counterparts at UPenn and MIT, failed to say whether calling for
"intifada" or the genocide of Jews is against Harvard's code of conduct. 

Rabbi David Wolpe, a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, announced his
exit from Harvard's antisemitism advisory committee, offering a "Hanukkah
message" ahead of the Jewish holiday. 

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"As of today I have resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at
Harvard," Wolpe began his message Thursday 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."

HARVARD PRESIDENT'S ATTEMPT TO ‘CLEANUP’ ANTISEMITISM STATEMENT FLOPS ON SOCIAL
MEDIA: ‘IT’S TOO LATE NOW'

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Rabbi David Wolpe announced his resignation from Harvard's antisemitism advisory
committee following its president's widely-panned congressional testimony.
(Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Wolpe called Gay a "kind and thoughtful person" and acknowledged that there were
other "good people at the institution" but that an "ideology" has gripped many
others.

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"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,"
Wolpe 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."

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Wolpe said combating such ideologies goes far behind his committee and Harvard
itself, saying it is "not going to be changed by hiring or firing a single
person" or posting on social media. 

"This is the task of educating a generation, and also a vast unlearning," Wolpe
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
millenia."            

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He continued, "In this generation, outside of Israel, we are called to be
Maccabees of a different order. We do not fight the actual battle but we search
for the cruse of oil left behind.  Remember the oil was to last one night, but
lasted eight - which means there were seven nights of miracle. But of course the
first night was the greatest miracle — because the motivation to light the
initial candle, to ensure the continuity and vitality of tradition in each
generation, that is the supreme miracle.  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.  Create that miracle for us and all
Israel — Blessing to you and Hag Urim Sameach."

Harvard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. 

ELISE STEFANIK SAYS SHE WAS LEFT 'SHAKEN' BY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS' 'PATHETIC'
ANSWERS ABOUT ANTISEMITISM

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Pro-Palestinian protesters gather at Harvard University at a rally in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty
Images)

Gay was among the university presidents grilled by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.
regarding pro-Palestinian activists chanting "intifada" in demonstrations on
campus. 

"You understand that the use of the term intifada in the context of the
Israeli-Arab conflict is indeed a call for violent armed resistance against the
State of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews…
And there have been multiple marches at Harvard with students chanting quote
‘There is only one solution, intifada revolution' and quote ‘Globalize the
intifada.’ Is that correct?" Stafanik asked. 

"I've heard that thoughtless, reckless and hateful language on our campus, yes,"
Gay responded before calling it "abhorrent" "hateful speech."

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THE MOST EXTREME ANTI-ISRAEL, HAMAS-SYMPATHIZING MOMENTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
SINCE THE OCT. 7 ATTACKS

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., grilled Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay over
whether chants of "intifada" violated the university's code of conduct. (Getty
Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

However, when pressed on whether rhetoric calling for "intifada" or the genocide
of Jewish people violated Harvard's code of conduct, Gay replied saying it
"depends on the context." 

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Historically, what’s called the First Intifada was a deadly series of attacks
and protests carried out by Palestinians against Israelis during the 1980s. The
Second Intifada occurred in the early 2000s as at least 1,000 Israelis were
killed by terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians using suicide bombers on
buses and shooting civilians in the streets, bars and restaurants in cities like
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Following intense backlash after the hearing, Gay released a statement saying,
"There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that
Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students. 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."

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be
sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.


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