On Monday, April 26th, Harvard University’s student-run Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) welcomed Omar Barghouti, the founder of the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, to participate in a discussion with professor Cornel West. The event, titled “Divestment as a Historical Tool for Justice,” was meant to provoke a deeper understanding of the Israel-Palestine conflict, but the PSC restricted a potentially constructive discussion through its inclusion of Jew-hating Barghouti in the panel.

Barghouti founded BDS with the intention of bringing as much economic harm to Israel as possible and continues to slander the Jewish state at every opportunity. He maintains relationships with several terrorist organizations through BDS and actively participates in antisemitic conspiracy theories. He has been quoted praising deadly terrorist attacks, even publishing a chapter in a book meant to glorify Palestinian violence.

Harvard University remains silent on the implications this event has on Jewish and Israeli students. The university claims to foster an inclusive campus environment, yet allows students to hold discriminatory events featuring racist speakers. Harvard must make a statement in opposition to Barghouti’s views and clarify that students of all cultural backgrounds are valued at the institution.

TELL HARVARD TO REJECT OMAR BARGHOUTI’S VIEWS

The institution’s failure to take a stand against blatant discrimination demonstrates to the students that they are only a priority when it becomes a publicized issue. Harvard needs to condemn everything Barghouti stands for and protect Jewish students from his bigotry and incitement.