We contest the widespread “conspiracy of helplessness” and the normalization of mass violence and starvation in Gaza. We have learned from history that there are many ways in which states can take action in response to crimes against humanity. We urge all states who signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to fulfill their responsibilities under international law: demand and enforce a permanent ceasefire, an arms embargo, the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, unimpeded distribution of humanitarian aid, and equality and self-determination for all Palestinians.
The IHRA definition constitutes an attack on constitutional rights to free expression and has functioned to discipline, detain, expel, and deport students and scholars. University administrators have the power to come together and assert that the actions of Mahmoud Khalil, Badar Khan Suri, Rümeysa Öztürk, and others wrongfully arrested simply for expressing their political views, are not antisemitic.
The abduction and detention of graduate and undergraduate students by Federal immigration authorities, revocation of visas, deportation of scholars, and removal of leadership are creating a terrifying precedent that will quickly extend beyond the criminalization of pro-Palestinian advocacy to threaten the freedom of all students and faculty. The Trump administration's feigned concerns about "Jewish safety" are attempts to disparage, isolate, and defund our universities.
We unequivocally condemn Harvard University for what appears to be another act of sacrificing members of its own institution who advocate for Palestinian human rights; in so doing, Harvard legitimizes Trump's cynical weaponization of antisemitism.