After a tumultuous day in which social networks were filled with criticism of the words of the presidents of important universities in the US in a congressional debate in which they avoided responding about the institutions' attitude to calls for Jewish genocide in Israel, Harvard panicked and issued a clarification statement.
In a tweet that was uploaded to the university's Twitter network, the president's statement was quoted, which read that "some have confused the right to freedom of expression with the idea that Harvard would agree to calls for violence against Jewish students. Let me clarify: 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."
This statement came after the Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik - a right-wing politician who graduated from Harvard - asked the president of the university, Claudine Gay, whether such chants violate the rules of conduct of her university. Gay squirmed and said it depends on the context.
President of MIT: Only if the calls are addressed to individual people they are problematic
Other university presidents were present at the discussion. MIT President Sally Kornbluth responded to the question by saying that "only if they are directed at individuals, not as a public statement," she said. She even suggested that "they will check whether such statements are considered abuse if they are serious or common."
"If such discourse becomes conduct, it can be considered abuse, yes," said Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania. When Stefanik pressed her, Magill added that "if it's a targeted, severe or widespread statement, it's harassment." When Stefanik demanded that she answer "yes," Magill added that it was "a decision that depends on the context."
"Is this a decision that depends on the context? Is this your testimony today?" Stefanik replied. "Do calls for genocide against the Jews depend on the context? Isn't that considered insolence? That's the easiest question to answer with 'yes'."
