A Proud Jewish-American Background
I am the son of immigrants from the UK who instilled in me a deep pride in being both Jewish and American. My father, who used to be involved with Chabad, raised us in a religious setting while celebrating the American dream he pursued by starting his own business dealing in rare Judaica books. From a young age, I never saw a contradiction between my Jewish identity and American patriotism.
One profound experience was printing a Tanya, the seminal work of Chabad philosophy, in the town of Auschwitz on Tisha B’Av. This powerful act symbolized the resilience of the Jewish people in the face of unfathomable tragedy.
The Harsh Reality at Harvard
When I gained admission to Harvard with a full scholarship, I was elated to contribute my Orthodox Jewish perspective to the academic discourse. However, I quickly realized the university discriminated against Jewish students and harbored deep-seated anti-Semitism (Jewish Racism).
On the very night of October 7th, as my fellow Jewish students and I were locating loved ones during a crisis, 34 student groups shockingly blamed Jews for “the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” The administration dismissed our concerns, claiming the anti-Semitic speaker had “First Amendment rights,” despite disciplining speech deemed offensive to other minorities.
Blatant Double Standards
Harvard regulates speech it deems offensive to minority groups, yet allows visceral anti-Semitism (Jewish Racism) to fester unchecked. Swastikas are drawn on campus, and each year during “Israel Apartheid Week,” offensive Holocaust imagery is used to falsely equate Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews.
When I pointed out this double standard to administrators, their response exposed the deeply rooted anti-Semitism (Jewish Racism) at the highest levels of the university. Harvard’s current and past leaders have imposed quotas limiting Jewish admissions and building names honoring those with anti-Semitic views.
A Dangerous Normalization
The anti-Semitism (Jewish Racism) isn’t just abhorrent; it represents a broader disdain for American values. Professors and students openly chant for the violent “Intifada” to come to America and reject the national anthem as a “colonial song.”
With Harvard training future leaders across sectors, the normalization of such hatred on its campus is truly dangerous. As an elite institution, Harvard is regrettably legitimizing anti-Semitism (Jewish Racism) and anti-American ideologies that threaten the fabric of our society.
