Harvard Jewish Students Contemptuous of Mock Eviction Notices
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Jewish undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts received mock eviction notices last week which had been distributed by a radical anti-Israel group, the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, in advance of and as a “coming attraction” to Harvard’s Israel Apartheid Week.
The notices read:
Dear Resident(s)We regret to inform you that your suite is scheduled for demolition in the next three days.
If you do not vacate the premise within this time frame, we reserve the right to destroy all remaining belongings. We are hereby released of any liability for damage to any persons or effects including gross negligence. You will receive an invoice for the charges of demolition and waste removal soon.
This may seem like unrealistically harsh treatment, but this is the actual state of affairs in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaa Strip. Around 25,000, homes have been destroyed by the Israeli military occupation forces since 1967 resulting in the internal displacement of over 160,000 Palestinians. All of this is against international law yet continues to this day.
Harvard’s Israel Apartheid Week took place this past week, March 3 – 9. However, other than the mock eviction notices and some tattered sandwich board-type signs protesting the “Illegal Occupation,” some of which looked as if they had been re-cycled from other protests, there were only two scheduled events.
The first event was the propaganda movie about protests against the security fence, “5 Broken Cameras,” which was shown on March 7. Then, on March 8, one of the oldest voices against Israel, linguist Noam Chomsky, spoke about “Lessons from Apartheid South Africa.” That’s it.
Harvard students were apparently less blase about the “Israel Apartheid” events than had been the case in the past.
Senior Seven J. Triconowicz shared his negative view of the events with the school paper.
“I feel like [Israeli Apartheid Week] goes against what Harvard stands for as a place for open academic dialogue, open thoughts, and open intellectual activity,” said Tricanowicz. “I find it kind of concerning that an event is going on in a way that promotes polarization and closed-mindedness.” His statements echo similar sentiments expressed by Oxford University students about an anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions motion which was soundly defeated last month.
One of the organizers of the mock eviction notices, senior Yacoub H. Kureh, was reportedly “dismayed” that some of the notices had been ripped up and thrown down on the ground. Imagine.
Even Jewish student leaders expressed disapproval of what amounts to childish pranks and one-sided information filled with inaccuracies, a welcome change from the past and from the situation at many other campuses.
Junior Sara Kantor ’14, co-chair of Harvard Students for Israel, told the school paper that she believes the Harvard Israeli Apartheid Week is “inherently problematic.”
“We feel bad responding to something that is so outside the spectrum of what we are willing to engage in,” said Kantor. “The issue is that it no longer becomes a question of dialogue—it simply becomes rhetoric and demonizes an entire nation and people.”
tell a friendAbout the Author: Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools.
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When I was a teenager, many people were upset that the "other side" of the struggles for civil rights were not presented at various campus and community events. Those people believed that equal time should be given to arguments that said African Americans were too ignorant to vote, that African American males were too "primitive" to be allowed to swim with white woman, that schools could be separate, as long as they were "equal. " Not all stories have sides that deserve to be given equal time or equal respect. Think about it, please.
So….what are you trying to say here??? Just spit it out.
Of course Jewish students would disapprove! What would you expect?
LOL "Even Jewish student leaders expressed disapproval of what amounts to childish pranks and one-sided information filled with inaccuracies, a welcome change from the past and from the situation at many other campuses." so desperate she is.
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Harvard for some reason has avoided the anti-Israel virus that has infected many universities. The rabid anti-Israel contingent there is very small even today; from what I could tell it was nonexistent when I was there 35 years ago. It would be worthwhile researching why things are different there.
Could be because the school motto is "veritas"
Of course Jewish students would disapprove! What would you expect?
if harvard expects to retain any credibility this had better be the last of the moronic blood libels about "apartheid". what sort of harvard students are that stupid and ignorant. it's scary. this is supposed to be the best and the brightest.
Well, they may well be the best and brightest as anti-Israel sentiment there is far less than on many other campuses of prestigious universities.
The arab/muslim people that occupy Israel are embarrassing themselves because they have no connection or history to the land of Israel. They don't have a culture or any history for themselves. They have made no contributions. The way they think and dress is 7th century. Its like they are from another planet. They don't fit in anywhere. They want to be the victim all the time. We give them everything but they always hate us. Its because the arab/muslims don't have anything to be proud of. They haven't contributed anything to the world. So its always our job to give them everything for free.
Give them a righteous ultimatum .
Any more hate .
Get RID of them !
Like Yehoshua Ben Nun and Calev Ben Yafuneh !
Enough is ENOUGH !
Thats very true about Muslims and specially the Arabs.
Zeev, I find your sentiments abhorrent, racist, disgusting, bigoted, intolerant, ahistorical, and nauseating. Otherwise, no arguments.
Antizionism is a subset of world marxism. They want Israel to disappear from the plant.
The title is very misleading. These fliers were posted on every student's door, not just Jewish ones — Harvard does not keep a list of its Jewish student and where they live.
The title is very misleading. These fliers were posted on every student's door, not just Jewish ones — Harvard does not keep a list of its Jewish student and where they live.