The Wexner Foundation has severed its ties with Harvard University in response to the school’s unwillingness to protect its Jewish students and denounce the barbaric murders of Israeli families by Hamas terrorists one week ago.
I commend the Wexner Foundation for cutting ties with Harvard’s @Kennedy_School
The leadership of @Harvard have proven they have lost their moral compass. Not only do they allow Jew-hatred and pro-terror rhetoric to permeate their campus, but they cannot bring themselves to… pic.twitter.com/m4ZRzbWIjB
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) October 16, 2023
The letter notifying the university of its decision was signed by Wexner Foundation President Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson, Chairpersons Abigail and Leslie Wexner, and Israel Director-General Ra’anan Avital.
“We are stunned and sickened at the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists last Saturday, the Sabbath and a festival day,” the letter read.
“Since then, many of our Israel Fellows no longer feel marginalized at HKS. They feel abandoned. That feeling is shared by our HKS Israeli Alumni, Foundation staff, and our chairmen.
“Other university presidents have said precisely what we should have heard immediately from President Gay: “What Hamas did is evil and there is no defense for terrorism. This shouldn’t be hard.”
The Foundation went on to cite the “administration’s failure to disassociate the university and condemn the statement swiftly issued by 34 student groups holding Israel entirely responsible for the violent terror attack on its own citizens. That should not have been hard.
“In the absence of this clear moral stand, we have determined that the Harvard Kennedy School and The Wexner Foundation are no longer compatible partners. Our core values and those of Harvard no longer align. HKS is no longer a place where Israeli leaders can go to develop the necessary skills to address the very real political and societal challenges they face,” the Foundation wrote.
“The current class of Wexner Israel Fellows, Class 34, will be the last to complete the MPA Program and we will no longer send Wexner Senior Leaders for the Executive Program. We make this decision with an unwavering commitment to our Israel Alumni, to Israel’s civil service and to the State of Israel,” the Foundation added.
Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Gilad Erdan commended the Wexner Foundation for its decision.
“The leadership of Harvard have proven they have lost their moral compass,” Erdan wrote in a lengthy tweet on X.
“Not only do they allow Jew-hatred and pro-terror rhetoric to permeate their campus, but they cannot bring themselves to immediately condemn terrorism.
“I call on every North American Jew and supporter of Israel to send this message to every university that behaves similarly.
“If your child’s university thinks twice before condemning the murder of innocents or allows a culture of hate to grow on campuses unhindered, then it cannot receive one more cent from any of you,” Erdan urged Jewish parents.
“Whoever stays silent after the massacre of children does not hold the moral credibility to educate our children.”
