Harvard Condemns Antisemitic Cartoon

Harvard University issued an official statement this week condemning a "vile and hateful antisemitic" cartoon that was circulated by two student groups and a faculty organization, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal said the cartoon depicted a hand with the Star of David and a dollar sign holding a noose from which Muhammad Ali and former Egypt President Gamal Abdel Nasser were hanging. The groups that shared the image later apologized in statements on social media.

"Perpetuating vile and hateful antisemitic tropes, or otherwise engaging in inflammatory rhetoric or sharing images that demean people on the basis of their identity, is precisely the opposite of what this moment demands of us," wrote Harvard interim president Alan Garber in a campus-wide message on Tuesday. "The University will review the situation to better understand who was responsible for the posting and to determine what further steps are warranted."

The two student groups, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and Harvard's African and African American Resistance Organization, released a joint statement apologizing for the cartoon, which they said originated from a 1960s activist organization known as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

"The inclusion of the offensive caricature was an unprompted, painful error — a combination of ignorance and inadequate oversight," the statement reads.

The Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, which had also shared the cartoon, wrote: "We apologize for the hurt that these images have caused and do not condone them in any way. Harvard FSJP stands against all forms of hate and bigotry including antisemitism."

The incident comes after Harvard’s former president, Claudine Gay, resigned Jan. 4 following allegations of plagiarism and accusations that she failed to adequately respond to antisemitism on the school's campus.

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