"Harvard Reverses Course on Human Rights Advocate Who Criticized Israel"

From the New York Times (Jennifer Schuessler & Marc Tracy):

The Harvard Kennedy School reversed course on Thursday and said it would offer a fellowship to a leading human rights advocate it had previously rejected, after news of the decision touched off a public outcry over academic freedom, donor influence and the boundaries of criticism of Israel….

In an email to the Kennedy School community on Thursday, [the school's dean Douglas] Elmendorf said his decision had been an "error" and the school would be extending an invitation to Roth.

Here's my Jan. 10 post on this, quoting the Foundations for Individual Rights and Expression

Here's FIRE's post criticizing this:

The dean of Harvard's Kennedy School has refused to approve the fellowship of the man — hailed as the "godfather" of human rights work — because he disagrees with his stance on Israel.

HKS, one of the top public policy institutions in the world, has violated Harvard's clear commitments to free expression by denying former Human Rights Watch executive Kenneth Roth a fellowship because of his purported "anti-Israel bias." As always, FIRE is neutral on Roth's views on Israel, as well as the underlying Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has defended individuals on every side of the issue.

Harvard's human rights experts reportedly sought Roth for the job after he announced he was stepping down as executive director of Human Rights Watch. Sushma Raman, executive director of HKS's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, invited Roth to join the center as a senior fellow. Roth and Raman agreed on terms, and the fellowship was set to be confirmed, but when it was elevated to HKS Dean Douglas Elmendorf, he refused to approve the deal.

FIRE wrote Dean Elmendorf today to urge him to approve Roth's fellowship, explaining that the school violated Roth's expressive rights by denying him the fellowship because of his views.

As we wrote:

But the Kennedy School undermines its laudable commitment to intellectual diversity and free inquiry when it rescinds a fellowship offer based on the candidate's viewpoint or speech. Specifically, the Kennedy School fails to promote "an atmosphere that welcomes new ideas" when it denies a fellowship to an accomplished human rights advocate and widely-acknowledged leader in the field over disagreement with some of his views.

The Nation speculated that the Kennedy School refused the fellowship because of fear of upsetting donors and defense and intelligence officials who oppose Roth's previous comments or his work at Human Rights Watch.

Pressure and backlash based on a fellow's viewpoints, or purported viewpoints, from those inside or outside of the campus community cannot be the basis for refusing to grant a fellowship. And if pressure is indeed to blame for Elmendorf's decision, it wouldn't be the first time. In 2017, he personally rescinded a fellowship invite to whistleblower Chelsea Manning after CIA head Mike Pompeo criticized the move.

Institutions committed to intellectual diversity and curiosity should welcome those with differing views. As PEN America wrote, "[w]ithholding Roth's participation in a human rights program due to his own staunch critiques of human rights abuses by governments worldwide raises serious questions about the credibility of the Harvard program itself."

Because of its prestige, Harvard's Kennedy School is a model for institutions that hope to emulate its programs, and its distinguished graduates are sought after. But this episode suggests the school may be blocking student exposure to certain viewpoints.

As we told HKS today, the "appropriate response to Roth's criticism of Israel by those who disagree with it is to offer 'more speech' in the form of reasoned criticism or debate. More speech serves the principles of free expression and Harvard's foundational interest in the pursuit of truth."

In 2021, FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff said, "Academic freedom is in the worst position of my career, and perhaps the worst condition it has been in decades — perhaps since the Red Scare." When top institutions violate the expressive and academic freedom rights of their faculty, other institutions believe that they may do so as well. But, in this case, other institutions should not follow Harvard's model: They should strive to be better.

We call on the Harvard Kennedy School to accept Roth's fellowship and publicly reaffirm that Harvard is committed to respecting free expression and academic freedom.

I asked the Kennedy School for their side of the story, and in particular whether Roth was indeed rejected because of his alleged "anti-Israel bias"; here's their official statement in response:

Dean Douglas Elmendorf decided not to make this fellowship appointment, as he sometimes decides not to make other proposed academic appointments, based on an evaluation of the candidate's potential contributions to the Kennedy School.

We have internal procedures in place to consider nominations for fellowships and other appointments, and we do not discuss our deliberations about individuals who may be under consideration.

Comments

[Bob from Ohio]

Shocking, Harvard gave into mau mauing from leftists? Unpossible.

[Leo Marvin]

F.I.R.E. is leftist? Lol

[The Margrave of Azilia]

The post is a bit vague on what his allegedly anti-Israel statements were, or whether that was actually a factor in initially not appointing him.

[Jonathan Affleck]

The Crimson has a brief article.

My first comment [I post under the name: אני שונא את ישראל.]

A person, who believes Elmendorf below, might be interested in buying a bridge that I’m selling and that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan.

«Elmendorf’s email, sent to HKS affiliates, explained that the original decision to block Roth’s appointment was based on the “evaluation of his potential contributions to the School” and not influenced by donors.»

My Second Comment

Jan 19 2023 is the first day of the Harvard Intifada (انتفاضة هارفارد), in which Harvard shakes off the influence of depraved and evil Zionist anti-Jews and a Zionist anti-Jew becomes as unwelcome at Harvard as a National Socialist or Klansman is unwelcome.

First Harvard, then the USA, and finally stolen Palestine!

Commentary

Let’s see how long my comments last. The Crimson has been a club for some of the most viciously racist and genocidal Zionist anti-Jews since as far back as I remember (1961). The Crimson, whose comments pages provide message common carriage, routinely removes pro-Palestine comments.

I am completely apolitical. I am a pro-Palestine activist because I am atoning for the role that my father’s depraved and evil Zionist relatives played in planning the genocide of Palestinians from Dec 1946 through Dec 1947.

The Crimson is a defendant in Martillo v. Twitter [22-532] because under diversity jurisdiction I can file a complaint in Massachusetts federal district court against Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, The Stanford Daily, and The Harvard Crimson because The Harvard Crimson and I are located in Suffolk County.

The beauty of the 1869 Massachusetts common carriage law (MGL c. 159 s. 1 & 2) lies in the quick accumulation of the penalty for denial of message common carriage into a stratospheric quantity. The penalty is paid to the plaintiff. When Martillo v. Twitter returns to federal district court, it will be a class action lawsuit, and the penalty will become astronomical.

[Jonathan Affleck]

It is easy to understand why Elmendorf and depraved evil white racial supremacist hyperwealthy genocidal Zionist anti-Jews like Robert Belfer, Idan Ofer, and David Rubenstein have become so inextricably intertwined.

These monstrously evil genocidal Zionist anti-Jews fund the Harvard Kennedy School of Government so that it can provide a venue for the political and public sector of the Zionist state to establish strong personal bonds with the political and public sector of the USA.

The presence of Kenneth Roth, who would explain apartheid in the stolen Palestine under Zionist rule, would disrupt bond formation and render the KSG worthless to hyperwealthy US Zionist anti-Jews.

Harvard has to decide whether it is going to continue this corrupt relationship with some of the most despicable Zionist anti-Jews on the planet. This relationship debases the Harvard product. The more public this corrupt relationship becomes; the more it undermines Harvard fundraising among potentially larger donors and degrades the Harvard product.

Harvard cannot serve vicious bloodthirsty murderously genocidal racial supremacist Zionist anti-Jews and function in the role of university to the world.

For the Kennedy School there is special risk when Roth addresses Zionist apartheid.

If the Zionist state practices apartheid and the KSG receives any federal money, the Harvard Wexner Israel Fellowship program probably creates a Title VI violation.

[Davedave]

You aren't pro-Palestinian, you're a neo-Nazi. It's offensive to both sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict for you to claim to be supporting either when you are merely expressing your Jew-loathing conspiracy theories.

[Jonathan Affleck]

A depraved and evil Zionist anti-Jew believes the rest of the world is as brain-dead and ethically challenged as he is.

In Yiddish a Jew says a vile and disgusting Zionist anti-Jew is אַ שטיק פֿלײש מיט צװײ אױגן -- a piece of meat with two eyes.

Jewish Law: A Zionist Cannot Be a Genuine Member of the Community of Israel — A Zionist is an Anti-Jew!

The Sages of the Talmud tell us that no Zionist can be a genuine member of the community of Israel. A Rabbinic scholar like RAMBAM affirms this position. A Zionist is at most technically Jewish but cannot ever be a genuine member of the community of Israel because he is proud of genocide and theft. In the Zionist case, genocide includes theft of identity because Palestinians descend from Greco-Roman Judeans and other peoples of Greco-Roman Palestine while no modern Jew descends from a Greco-Roman Judean. Here is Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 20a (12).

§ It is taught in a baraita: “That His fear may be upon your faces” (Exodus 20:17); this is referring to shame, as shame causes one to blush. “That you not sin” (Exodus 20:17) teaches that shame leads to fear of sin. From here the Sages said: It is a good sign in a person that he is one who experiences shame. Others say: Any person who experiences shame will not quickly sin, and conversely, one who does not have the capacity to be shamefaced, it is known that his forefathers did not stand at Mount Sinai.

[Jonathan Affleck]

The ethically challenged have a problem with the following simple fact.

A group subjected to genocide at the hands of a first set of genocide-perpetrators (e.g., National Socialists) can later themselves form a second set of genocide-perpetrators (e.g., Zionist anti-Jews) just as evil as the first set of genocide-perpetrators.

The thinking of a depraved and evil Zionist anti-Jew is congruent with the thinking of a Nazi.

[Davedave]

Here we go, full blow Nazism on display. Thanks for proving the point. You claim to campaign for Palestinians, but in fact you want to gas the Jews, then the Palestinians, then black people, then everyone else who isn't 'Aryan'.

[Jonathan Affleck]

It is pure and vicious antisemitism to equate a Jew (like me) with a depraved evil murderously genocidal racial supremacist Zionist anti-Jew.

When a Zionist anti-Jew makes his ridiculous and false claim of Rabbinic Jewish indigenousness in Palestine, he implies that Palestinians are not indigenous and therefore illegitimate in Palestine (BTW, implicit libel). Delegitimizing Palestinians is a method to legitimize and normalize genocide of Palestinians (BTW, libel for the sake of breach of the peace -- genuine criminal libel).

A Zionist anti-Jew tries to delegitimize Palestinians exactly as a Nazi worked to delegitimize Jews.

With respect to Jews, the Nazi period can be divided into two phases:
a. the genocide phase,
1. during which the Nazi government pressured Jews to leave German controlled regions “voluntarily” and
2. which took place from January 1933 until the start of the Holocaust in 1941; and
b. the mass-murder phase from the start of the Holocaust in 1941 until the defeat of Germany in 1945.

As soon as the Nazis took power in Germany in January 1933, they put a tremendous amount of effort into delegitimizing Jews in Germany (and in any territories coming under German rule). This effort was meant to legitimize and normalize genocide of Jews. While Nazi genocide during the 30s was like Zionist genocide of Palestinians today mostly confined to making conditions of life so miserable for the victims targeted for genocide that said targeted victims would “voluntarily” leave their homeland, Nazi genocide of Jews culminated in the Holocaust. It is reasonable to extrapolate that ongoing genocide of Palestinians will culminate in mass murder of Palestinians.

Despite the working definition of antisemitism, the mentality, methods, and goals of Zionist anti-Jews are completely congruent with those of Nazis during the genocide period of the Nazi regime.

BTW, my wife is Palestinian, and my Mom, who is a Jewish Berber, loves my wife at least an order of magnitude more than my mom hated my VuzVuz wives. My Mom considers my Palestinian wife to be a true Judean אֵשֶׁת חַיִל -- someone a vile and disgusting female Zionist anti-Jew can never be.

A Zionist colonial settler anti-Jew in stolen Palestine is a murderous genocidal invader, interloper, thief, and impostor, who deserves undying hatred, scorn, and loathing from the entire human race.

[Davedave]

You're a full-blown Nazi. Not a neo-Nazi, just a 1930s throwback. Do one, you lying twat.

[Jonathan Affleck]

A depraved and evil Zionist anti-Jew invariably blows a gasket at Jewish-Palestinian miscegenation and starts screeching meaningless accusations incoherently.

A Zionist anti-Jew thinks just like a Nazi or a Southern white racist at the thought of love and marriage across racial or ethnic boundaries.

It is hard to be more vile and disgusting than a white racial supremacist Zionist anti-Jew.

[Longtobefree]

So a clear admission that the initial decision was wrong?
Full apology to the not hired/now hired?
Firing of the incompetents who made the bad decision?

Didn't think so. Today's academia, pure politics.

[Davedave]

The simple reality is that whilst under his watch HRW has indeed been deeply antisemitic and also managed to deny the reality of South African apartheid, none of that should have any influence on whether or not Roth should be employed by Harvard in an unrelated academic post. I doubt many people who go to Harvard want to have social contact with anyone who claims South African apartheid wasn't anything to worry about, so he'll be a pariah on campus, but that's another matter entirely.

[Jonathan Affleck]

A Depraved and Evil Zionist Anti-Jew is Deeply Antisemitic!

Two types of racism define Zionism.

The first racism consists of genocidal hatred of Palestinians simply for existing. Zionists hate Palestinian natives because Palestinians are — as Ben-Gurion and Ben-Tzvi realized — true descendants of ancient Judeans and pose an insurmountable existential dilemma for the white racist colonial-settler invaders, who have stolen Palestine on the basis of a ridiculous fairy tale of their own descent from ancient Judeans.

The second Zionist racism consists of Zionist racism directed against Diaspora Jews and probably deserves a unique name. Antisemitism among non-Jews of the late 19th century and of the first half of the 20th century results from the advantages European Jews had during European modernization.

If gentile or traditional antisemitism is a thesis, which asserts that the rise of the Jews is wrong. Zionism is a counter-thesis, which asserts that there is nothing wrong with the rise of the Jews and that the real problem results

1. from the manner of this rise and
2. from the defects created in the course of this flawed rise.

Jews were becoming wealthier faster than the non-Jews among whom they lived, but Jewish status and power did not increase concomitantly. Non-Jews were accusing Jews of materialism, avarice, parasitical occupation, physical weakness, and lasciviousness for non-Jewish women. The nascent Zionists internalized this critique. Because Zionist anti-Jews were (and remain) depraved deranged white racial supremacist monsters, they concluded that the gentile critique could be overcome and Jewish defectiveness healed only by committing genocide on the natives of Palestine and by stealing the country of these natives.

While Zionist racism against Palestinians results in genocide and expulsion, Zionist racism against Diaspora Jews, who are proud of their heritage and who reject the depravity of Zionist ideology and actions, is the hatred of true believer for the benighted old believer. The scorn and contempt of the murderous and genocidal Zionist anti-Jew for the Diaspora Jewish witness to Zionist depravity knows no bounds. Even if nowadays the Diaspora Jewish witness is less likely to be assassinated, Zionist anti-Jews work tirelessly to defame and to exclude such a witness as well as to create discrimination against him.

Zionist anti-Jews suffer deserved hatred. A decent person hates Zionism, the Zionist state, and every Zionist anti-Jew because of their boundless criminality.

Here is the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

The above definition describes the hatred that the Zionist anti-Jew feels for the Diaspora Jew that rejects Zionism. Zionist anti-Jews often express rhetorical (at least) manifestations of antisemitism against non-Zionist or anti-Zionist Jewish community institutions like the Jewish Voice for Peace and Boston Workers Circle Center for Jewish Culture and Social Justice.

Zionism is not in any way part of Judaism. Zionism, the Zionist movement, and every Zionist anti-Jew murders Judaism by transforming Judaism, Jewishness, and Jewish identity into a program of genocide. From the standpoint of Judaism, Zionism represents the utmost depravity.