The shocking wave of left-wing antisemitism on U.S. college campuses is in the spotlight this week with a meeting of Harvard’s governing board. There are many who expect the group to decide the fate of university President Claudine Gay.
She ignited a firestorm of criticism last week in explosive testimony before Congress. Gay refused to assert that calling for the genocide of the Jewish people was a violation of Harvard’s standards.
University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill had the decency to tender her resignation on Saturday after the same dramatic blunder before Congress. But Gay is expected to double down instead.
In fact, her embarrassing performance in Washington drew widespread support among Harvard faculty. The New York Times reported that a staggering 500 members signed a petition urging “in the strongest possible terms” that the board not move to terminate Gay.
The faculty claimed such an act would be “at odds with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom.”
Billboard trucks deployed to Harvard demanding president Claudine Gay be fired https://t.co/It3U8xNJSE pic.twitter.com/R2puA0uCjk
— New York Post (@nypost) December 11, 2023
There is intense pressure on the prestigious school to act. Prominent alum Alan Dershowitz blasted Harvard on Monday, writing that Gay and other university leaders “articulated and enforced a double standard of free speech to the detriment of Jewish students.”
An unusual sight greeted passersby on the Harvard campus Sunday. Multiple trucks sported signs with the message “Fire Gay” emblazoned on them along with a picture from her performance before Congress.
Fox News Digital reported the vehicles were privately funded. A loudspeaker blasted her contentious response to being grilled over antisemitism by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Tuesday.
There are also plans by the same private entity to pay for a plane to fly over campus this week pulling a banner which will read, “HARVARD — STOP JEW HATRED.” The strategy worked at Penn last week when a similar effort led to Magill stepping down.
It is noteworthy that the same schools categorized “misgendering” and resistance to “preferred pronouns” as “hate speech.”
There are also allegations swirling that Gay plagiarized parts of her PhD dissertation. Jewish school donor Bob Ackman reported that Harvard faculty members upheld the accusation.
He stopped funding the university after the massive anti-Israel protests swept the campus — seemingly with the blessing of the Ivy League institution’s leadership.
