Dean Distances Harvard Divinity School From Israel Statement Issued by Religion and Public Life Program Leaders

Harvard Divinity School Interim Dean David F. Holland distanced the institution from a statement on the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza issued by leaders of the HDS Religion and Public Life program.

Five administrators and one visiting professor who lead the Religion and Public Life program — Diane L. Moore, Hussein Rashid, Hilary Rantisi, Susie O. Hayward, Judy E. Beals, and Atalia Omer — urged people to “challenge single story narratives that justify vengeance and retaliation” in an RPL newsletter sent to HDS affiliates Wednesday.

“Start with the rockets fired into Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and not with the illegal occupation of Palestinian land by Israel and the blockade of Gaza since 2007, and you have an entirely different story,” they wrote.

“To acknowledge the context out of which this latest spate of violence arises is not to diminish the pain and suffering of Israeli and Palestinian victims,” they added.

Moore and Rashid lead the RPL program as associate dean and assistant dean, respectively.

In his Thursday email, Holland wrote that the six individuals “speak solely for themselves,” adding that “they do not speak for their program, for HDS, or for its wider community.”

“To condemn acts of terror is not to ignore the history, and to critique the context is not to condone the terror,” Holland added. “Swift summaries often fail to do justice to these complex realities—they can inflame rather than illuminate—and are therefore unproductive in this moment.”

The six signatories did not reply to a request for comment, but noted in their Wednesday statement that “the views expressed here represent those of the signatories.”

This is the second time this week that a top Harvard administrator has distanced their institution from a statement made by affiliates.

Following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel over the weekend, more than 30 student organizations joined the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee in issuing a statement Saturday holding Israel “entirely responsible” for the violent escalation.

While the PSC wrote that it “staunchly opposes all violence against all innocent life” in a Wednesday follow-up statement, the group and its 33 original co-signatories came under intense fire from federal lawmakers, Harvard professors, and other students.

On Monday night, University President Claudine Gay and other top administrators — including Holland — sent a message to Harvard affiliates. The email was swiftly criticized for not adequately denouncing Hamas or the student organizations’ statement.

The following morning, Gay sent a second message condemning Hamas and distancing Harvard from the student groups’ statement. After students allegedly affiliated with the controversial statement were faced with doxxing attacks, Gay followed up on Thursday evening with a video address affirming the school’s “commitment to free expression,” implicitly rejecting calls to sanction the students affiliated with the signatories.

“That commitment extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous,” she said. “We do not punish or sanction people for expressing such views, but that is a far cry from endorsing them.”

—Staff writer Rahem D. Hamid can be reached at rahem.hamid@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Elias J. Schisgall can be reached at elias.schisgall@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @eschisgall.

Editor’s Note: Readers should note that premoderation has been turned on for online commenting on this article out of concerns for student safety.

—Cara J. Chang, President

—Brandon L. Kingdollar, Managing Editor