Harvard President Claudine Gay has finally apologized for the anti-Semitic scandal caused by her comments before Congress on Tuesday, after previous statements were dismissed as missing the point.
Gay sparked widespread backlash this week when she claimed that calls for genocide of Jewish people would only be wrong “depending on the context.”
The comment sparked outrage when Gay was condemned, including by the White House, prompting the teacher to issue a groveling apology. The Harvard Crimson on Thursday.
'I'm sorry. Words matter,” she said. “When words add to the sadness and pain, I don't know how you can feel anything but regret.”
Harvard President Claudine Gay yesterday at congressional hearing where she said calling for genocide of Jews does not violate the school's code of conduct
Gay's comments before Congress caused her to confront New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik at the end of her hours-long testimony, in a hostile back-and-forth that circulated widely online.
Stefanik asked Harvard's president, “Does the call for genocide of the Jews violate Harvard's rules on bullying and harassment?” at her university.
In response, Gay said, “That may be true, depending on the context.”
Stefanik continued the series of questions, insisting it was a yes or no question.
“Anti-Semitic statements that turn into behavior that amounts to bullying, harassment, that is actionable behavior and we are taking action,” Gay said, with many feeling her position was not strong enough.
Gay then repeated several times that calls for genocide were merely an offense depending on “the context,” which led to Stefanik berating her in front of the House of Representatives.
'It doesn't depend on the context. The answer is yes and that is why you should resign,” the representative said. “These are unacceptable answers across the board.”
The fiery hearing also featured similarly vague positions on anti-Semitism from University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who also faced calls for their resignation as a result of their testimony.
Magill is being told today by the UPenn board that she must resign from her job, after members held an emergency meeting following her disastrous actions.
The White House joined criticism from Gay, Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, with a spokesperson saying calls for genocide are “monstrous and contrary to everything we represent as a country.”
Gay's testimony also comes amid increasing threats and violent anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses images shared on social media It appears the editor of the Harvard Law Review targeted an Israeli student on the Harvard campus last month.
U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY) calls for the resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay during a House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing
The hearing also featured much-criticized testimony from MIT President Sally Kornbluth (left) and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (right), both of whom faced calls for their resignation in the aftermath.
Amid national outrage, Gay issued a highly criticized walk-back the next day, claiming her words were “confusing” and emphasizing Harvard's intention to combat anti-Semitism.
“There are some who have confused the right to free speech with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students,” she said.
“Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group, are despicable, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held accountable.”
Harvard's leader has faced increasing calls to step down from her lucrative position in the wake of the scandal, and the leadership of the Harvard Hillel – the university's Jewish community – has said they do not trust her to lead Jewish students into the university. protect campus.
She has now said she failed to “convey what my truth is” during the hearing, and that she regrets her words as they were made in the heat of the moment after her hours of testimony turned hostile.
“I got caught up in what had become at that moment: an extended, combative exchange over policies and procedures,” Gay said.
“What I should have had the presence of mind at that moment was to return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community – threats to our Jewish students – have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged. .'
Pro-Palestinian protesters pictured on Harvard's campus on October 14, 2023, one of several groups labeled as “morally reprehensible” by Republicans for apparent support for the terrorist group Hamas
Gay added that she “failed to convey what my truth is,” but said she has no regrets attending the Congressional hearing and putting forward her position on the harrowing issue of anti-Semitism .
“When the committee invited me to attend the hearing, I had no hesitation in agreeing,” she said. “It was an opportunity to convey the depth of both my personal commitment and the institutional commitment to combating anti-Semitism.”
The Harvard Crimson noted that her testimony had the opposite effect on campus, as one of its editorial editors, Harvard Hillel President Jacob Miller, joined Hillel Campus Rabbi Getzel Davis in writing a scathing open letter on Tuesday evening.
“President Gay's failure to properly condemn this speech calls into question her ability to protect Jewish students on Harvard's campus,” Hillel leadership wrote.
“President Gay's testimony cannot reassure us that the university is deeply concerned about the anti-Semitic rhetoric prevalent on campus.”
