A group of students from Harvard and Columbia universities have faced severe consequences for expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian people in a letter published online. The letter, which was signed by over 200 students from various disciplines, condemned the Israeli occupation and violence against Palestinians, and called for an end to US military aid to Israel.
The letter also criticized the silence and complicity of some of their professors and institutions in the face of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
However, the letter did not go unnoticed by some pro-Israeli groups and individuals, who launched a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the signatories. Some of the students reported receiving death threats, hate messages, and cyberattacks on their personal and professional accounts. Some of them also lost their job offers or internships from prestigious firms and organizations, who cited the letter as a reason for rescinding their contracts.
The students said that they were shocked and disappointed by the backlash they faced for expressing their opinions and exercising their academic freedom. They said that they did not expect such a hostile reaction from their peers, professors, and employers, who claimed to value diversity and human rights. They also said that they felt betrayed by their institutions, who did not offer them any support.
After several Wall Street CEOs and founders announced their intent to deny jobs to Harvard and Columbia students who had openly supported Palestine and blamed Israel after the October 7 Hamas attacks, three of them faced direct repercussions.
An elite law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell rescinded job offers given to three Ivy League students associated with Palestine support letter.
It added that student leaders who signed onto the statements are “no longer welcome in our firm”.
The letter, which was published on May 15, 2023, coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, or the catastrophe, which marks the displacement and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland in 1948.
The letter also came amid a wave of violence and escalation in Israel and Palestine, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, mostly among Palestinians.
The violence was sparked by Israeli attempts to evict Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as Israeli raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, one of the holiest sites for Muslims.
