Harvard in antisemitism storm over ‘genocide’ talk by professor who appeared with Hamas leader
A professor who appeared beside a top Hamas leader was due to speak on “genocide” at Harvard Monday — the same day as a deadline for the university to finally comply with a congressional subpoena demanding answers on antisemitism.
Noura Erakat, an associate professor of Africana studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, was scheduled to speak on “We Charge Genocide; The Potential and Limits of International Law,” at the school’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies — after months of making anti-Israeli speeches.
The lecture by the controversial academic, who is also a human rights attorney, came amid mounting accusations that Harvard has failed to tackle antisemitism on its campus in the wake of the Hamas massacre of hundreds of innocent Israelis on October 7.
And the speech was scheduled just as Harvard hits a deadline to hand over documents demanded by the House Education Committee as it probes antisemitism on campus.
Harvard had already been granted an extension to cooperate with the probe, formally launched after a December hearing in which its then-president Claudine Gay said that whether calling for the genocide of Israelis broke Harvard’s policies depended on “context.”
But Erakat’s speech appears likely to inflame tensions. From the beginning of the Hamas atrocities committed against Israelis, Erakat has blamed Israel alone for the violence.
“Any condemnation of violence is vapid if it does not begin & end with a condemnation of Israeli apartheid, settler colonialism, and occupation,” Erakat posted on X to her more than 176,000 followers on Oct. 7.
A few days later, on Oct. 16, she tweeted to President Biden “…@POTUS repeated the lie about beheaded [Israeli] babies [by Hamas], directed US diplomatic corps to avoid calls for ceasefire [between Israel and Hamas], & backs Israel’s genocidal warfare [in Gaza]…”
In 2020, she participated in an online workshop along with senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad that was hosted by Palestinian nonprofit the Masarat Center, according to a post advertising the event.
A spokesman for Harvard did not return an email requesting comment. Erakat could not be reached for comment Monday.
An antisemitism watchdog group condemned Harvard for allowing Erakat on campus.
“Harvard hosting Noura Erakat is yet another example of a former great institution’s failure to stand up to antisemitism,” a spokesman for Canary Mission told The Post.
“In addition to a host of antisemitic incidents in her own right, Erakat demonstrates the lack of sincerity from Harvard’s administration in rooting out antisemitism.”
Erakat was slammed last month when she gave a virtual lecture, “Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine,” organized by the Center for Security, Race and Rights at Rutgers Law School.
In November, Erakat participated in anti-Israel rallies in Washington, DC, and Philadelphia, where she claimed Israel is on a “depraved pursuit of wealth and privilege.”
And a month later, a controversial talk about “Race, Liberation, and Palestine” that Erakat participated in was blasted by critics as “providing a platform” for “well-known antisemites.”
Erakat is also the co-editor of Jadaliyya, a pro-Palestinian online magazine. Her uncle Saeb Erekat was a Palestinian diplomat and senior member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and for decades the authority’s chief negotiator with Israel.
Gay resigned as president in January following fierce criticism of her failure to address antisemitism on campus and mounting allegations of plagiarism.
