Letter to Harvard President Claudine Gay

[Update 10/11: I have not received a response to this letter, but On the night of October 9th, Harvard’s leadership released a statement, and president Gay added her own statement on October 10th; you can read both here. These partially address what I raised in the letter, but still fall short of condemning, rather than only distancing from, the outrageous statement by 35 student groups.]

Dear President Gay,

Recent days have been harrowing for both me and every other Israeli or Jewish person on the Harvard campus. On October 7th, Hamas launched a premeditated attack on the Israeli population. Hundreds of terrorists infiltrated Israeli towns and houses. Children were killed in front of their parents; entire families were executed. Grandmothers, mothers, and their babies were kidnapped. All in all, more than 700 Israelis were killed in a single day and the death toll is continuing to grow. There have also been deaths on the Palestinian side, including hundreds of terrorists and, unfortunately, some civilians, none of whom were purposely targeted. 

Every innocent death is a tragedy, period. Yet, this should not mislead us to create false equivalencies between the actions leading to this loss. Hamas planned and executed a terror attack that systematically targeted civilians and focused on women, children, and the elderly. The Israeli security forces were engaging in self-defense against this attack while dealing with numerous hostage situations and a barrage of thousands of rockets hidden deliberately in dense urban settings. 

Against this backdrop, I was heartbroken to see a statement signed by 35 Harvard student organizations. Published while terrorists were still killing Israelis in their homes, the statement holds “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” with not a single word denouncing the horrific acts by Hamas. In the context of the unfolding events, this statement can be seen as nothing less than condoning hate crimes against civilians based only on their nationality. Freedom of speech is an important principle, but at the very least, I would expect Harvard’s leadership to denounce this statement–just as they should denounce any statement condoning hate crimes by Harvard-affiliated organizations.

I was also dismayed by official communication from Harvard. In an email to the Harvard Graduate School of Education community, Dean Long wrote “to express concern in the aftermath of the deadly attacks in Israel and the Gaza Strip where it has been reported that more than 1,100 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded by the actions taken by Hamas and the Israeli government. “ Once again, this is a false equivalency between the terrorist action of Hamas and Israeli self-defense. 

I recognize that Harvard has students and community members from all regions, including from the Gaza Strip. These are not easy times for anyone, and I pray for the safety of all our members and their families. We do not know yet how the situation will unfold. Israel has committed wrongdoings in the past, and I have publicly criticized its government for doing so. It may also deserve criticism on some future day. But today is not that day.

Boaz Barak

Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, 
Co-director of Undergraduate Studies, Computer Science
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences