Following the U.S. Congress hearing held last week over the inaction of American university presidents in the face of growing antisemitism on campuses, the U.S. House of Representatives issued a statement Thursday calling for the presidents of Harvard and MIT to resign from their positions.
More stories:
Meanwhile, Harvard University’s president Claudine Gay participated in the Hanukkah menorah candle-lighting ceremony traditionally held on campus, where the ceremony's director, Harvard’s Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, openly criticized her.
Zarchi referred to a message sent on behalf of the institution's board of directors, who supported Gay and said she would not be dismissed despite the controversial hearing. " “The email referred to you as ‘Our President,’” he said. “We in the Jewish community are longing for a day that we can refer to the president and all of Harvard as ours.”
In his 15-minute-long speech in front of dozens of Jewish students and faculty, Zarchi described the fear and anxiety Jews have been feeling on campus since Hamas’ attack on October 7.
According to Zarchi, he and his family received death threats after they hosted Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan on campus, whom the assailants labeled a "war criminal." Erdan initiated the screening of the footage of the October 7 massacre arranged by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit for students and staff at Harvard last week.
Rabbi Zarchi added that local police asked him to hire a private security company to protect his family. " We are gathering in a moment when the eyes of the world are upon us. Everybody is looking at Harvard now. It pains me to have to say, sadly, that Jew-hate and antisemitism is thriving on this campus,” he said addressing the institution's administration. " Twenty-six years I gave my life to this community. I’ve never felt more alone.”
2 View gallery
Sally Kornbluth, Claudine Gay, Liz Magill
(Photo: Retuers / Ken Cedeno, EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER, AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The rabbi also added that he was asked by the Harvard police to fold the Hanukkah menorah immediately after the ceremony was done, saying, "After everyone leaves the Yard, we're going to pack it up. We have to hide it somewhere. The university since that first Hanukkah would not allow us to keep this menorah here overnight because there's fear that it will be vandalized, and it won’t look good.”
He added, "We’re trying to fix the world, teach the leaders of the world. On our campus, we are instructed to hide the menorah. Change will only happen when we don’t have to pack up the menorah.”
Gay, who attended the ceremony alongside her husband, listened to the rabbi's speech and was eventually called upon to light the candles. "It’s my hope, and I know I speak for everyone here, that we can work together with you,” Zarchi said, imploring her to stand against those who wish to bring harm to Jews on campus. "You don’t walk by and say nothing. You speak. You don’t remain silent.”