A Harvard University professor resigned as faculty adviser to two groups that posted an anti-Semitic cartoon of a Jewish hand holding a noose hung around a black man and a Palestinian man, according to the Harvard Crimson.
Walter Johnson, a Harvard professor of African American studies and history, resigned as the adviser to Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) and the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee following widespread backlash to the image, according to the Crimson. Harvard Interim President Alan Garber and the university both put out statements condemning the antisemitic posts.
Conversations about Professor Johnson’s stepping down from the position were ongoing. His term was up in the spring and he had let us know he was not going to renew, the Harvard PSC wrote in a statement, according to the Crimson. This was a personal decision and he remains supportive of our goals as an organization. We are grateful for his time and support and wish him all the best.
Garber condemned the post in a Tuesday press release, calling the choice to post the image grossly irresponsible and profoundly offensive.
As members of an academic community, we can and we will disagree, sometimes vehemently, on matters of public concern and controversy, including hotly contested issues relating to the war in Israel and Gaza, and the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it is grossly irresponsible and profoundly offensive when that disagreement devolves into forms of expression that demonize individuals because of their religion, race, nationality, or other aspects of their identity, Garber said in the press release.
Harvard University released a statement Monday calling the images despicable and saying that the university rejects antisemitism in all of its forms.
The Harvard PSC and the African and African American Resistance Organization (AAARO), which both posted the image, apologized in a joint statement posted to Instagram.
While the image in question was removed promptly, it should have never been published to begin with. We wholeheartedly apologize for the immense harm we caused, the statement reads.
The Harvard FSJP also released an apology Tuesday on their Instagram page.
We removed the content as soon as it came to our attention. We apologize for the hurt that these images may have caused and do not condone them in any way, the post reads.
Harvard has come into the spotlight over the past several months due to antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned Jan. 2 from the university following several plagiarism accusations and refusing to say if calling for the genocide of Jews violated the school’s code of conduct at a Dec. 5 congressional hearing. Over 70 representatives called for Gay to be removed from the university after the hearing, and the House Education Committee opened an investigation into the school.
Gay did not initially respond to a letter written by over 30 student organizations on campus which blamed Israel for the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Several major donors cut ties with the university following Gay’s response to the letter and other antisemitic incidents on campus.
