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https://www.wionews.com/world/american-billionaire-bill-ackman-urges-suspensions-at-harvard-to-tackle-antisemitism-on-campus-655894
Bill Ackman writes to Harvard president, calls out antisemitism on campus Massachusetts Edited By: Navya BeriUpdated: Nov 07, 2023, 08:32 AM IST
Bill Ackman Photograph:(Reuters)
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Taking to his official X handle, Ackman said that after spending several
hours with the students and faculty, he felt that the situation was
getting worse.
Harvard alumnus and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wrote an open letter
urging university president Claudine Gay to take strict measures to
reduce antisemitism on campus.
Taking to his official X handle, Ackman said that after spending several
hours with the students and faculty, he felt that the situation at his
alma mater was " dire and getting worse".
"For the past four weeks since the horrors of October 7th, I have been
in dialogue with members of the corporation board, other alumni, as well
as students and faculty sharing and comparing our concerns about the
growing number of antisemitic incidents on campus, as we wait for you
and the University to act. Four weeks after the barbaric terrorist acts
of October 7th, I have lost confidence that you and the University will
do what is required," he wrote.
He further said that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian
militant group Hamas had converted the Cambridge campus into a place
unsafe for Jewish students where they expressed concerns about the
threat of physical violence.
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"Jewish students are being bullied, physically intimidated, spat on, and
in several widely disseminated videos of one such incident, physically assaulted," he said.
He stated in the letter that the student Slack message boards were
filled with antisemitic statements, memes, and images.
"Student Slack message boards are replete with antisemitic statements,
memes, and images. On-campus protesters on the Widener Library steps and elsewhere shout “Intifada! Intifada! Intifada! From the River to the
Sea, Palestine Shall Be Free!” as they knowingly call for violent insurrection and use eliminationist language seeking the destruction of
the State of Israel and the Jewish people," the letter stated.
The American billionaire further hit out at the campus' "commitment to
free expression" claiming that such a move was encouraging antisemitic statements from the protesters as the university did not list any
limitations to it.
A spate of incidents related to antisemitism have been reported in
several US campuses after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched unprecedented attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct 7
further provoking a counter-offensive from the Israeli military.
Also read: Antisemitic crimes surge in France: Over 1,000 acts recorded
since October 7 Hamas attack
UMass student allegedly punches Jewish student
A University of Massachusetts Amherst student was arrested after he
allegedly punched a Jewish student and spit on an Israeli flag following
a demonstration in the campus on Friday (Nov 3).
The incident took place after UMass Amherst Hillel held an event calling
for the release of Israeli hostages taken captive by Hamas.
“After the event had concluded and event security had left, the same
student returned to the site of the event and punched a Jewish student
holding an Israeli flag, then took the flag and spit on it,” UMass
Hillel said in a statement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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