More than 65 Harvard faculty and staff members have formed a pro-Palestine advocacy group called Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, according to a Jan. 6 statement posted to the group’s website.
Founded as a chapter of the national network of Faculty for Justice in Palestine, the group called on Harvard to sever its ties with Israel and condemned what it termed an “unfolding genocide” in Gaza.
FSJP’s Jan. 6 statement also harshly criticized Harvard’s response to pro-Palestine activism on campus, accusing the University of participating in efforts to “methodically censor, surveil, and discipline students, faculty, and staff for teaching and speech that is critical of the state of Israel.”
In particular, the FSJP highlighted what it called “unusual disciplinary measures” that Harvard imposed on student protesters.
The statement cited recent cases of undergraduate students facing Administrative Board hearings for their involvement in pro-Palestine demonstrations and an instance where a Harvard College proctor was relieved of his position “for an indeterminate amount of time” after a viral video depicted him in a confrontation at a pro-Palestine protest.
University spokesperson Jason A. Newton and College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo declined to comment for this article.
In the statement, FSJP — which is also affiliated with the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, an activist organization tied to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement — urged Harvard to cut its financial ties with the country, arguing that American universities “play an integral role” in upholding Israeli violence.
“The unfolding genocide in Gaza cannot be disconnected from over 75 years of violent dispossession of the Palestinian people,” the statement said.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/1/18/...ine-group/
Founded as a chapter of the national network of Faculty for Justice in Palestine, the group called on Harvard to sever its ties with Israel and condemned what it termed an “unfolding genocide” in Gaza.
FSJP’s Jan. 6 statement also harshly criticized Harvard’s response to pro-Palestine activism on campus, accusing the University of participating in efforts to “methodically censor, surveil, and discipline students, faculty, and staff for teaching and speech that is critical of the state of Israel.”
In particular, the FSJP highlighted what it called “unusual disciplinary measures” that Harvard imposed on student protesters.
The statement cited recent cases of undergraduate students facing Administrative Board hearings for their involvement in pro-Palestine demonstrations and an instance where a Harvard College proctor was relieved of his position “for an indeterminate amount of time” after a viral video depicted him in a confrontation at a pro-Palestine protest.
University spokesperson Jason A. Newton and College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo declined to comment for this article.
In the statement, FSJP — which is also affiliated with the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, an activist organization tied to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement — urged Harvard to cut its financial ties with the country, arguing that American universities “play an integral role” in upholding Israeli violence.
“The unfolding genocide in Gaza cannot be disconnected from over 75 years of violent dispossession of the Palestinian people,” the statement said.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/1/18/...ine-group/
