Harvard’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Condemns Antisemitic Stickers

Sherri A. Charleston, Harvard’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, condemned the antisemitic stickers discovered around campus and encouraged affiliates to sign up for an informational event about antisemitism in a University-wide email Friday afternoon.

The stickers, which showed the Israeli flag with the Star of David replaced by a swastika, were discovered near Harvard Hillel — the University’s Jewish center — earlier this week. The stickers also contained the text: “Stop Funding Israeli Terrorism.”

“As a human being, and citizen of the world, I find the invocation of swastika imagery abhorrent,” Charleston wrote. “And as a leader and administrator, whose career is devoted to strengthening this community, I must emphasize unequivocally how intolerable that image is to all of us for what it symbolizes.”

The Harvard University Police Department and the Cambridge Police Department are conducting a joint investigation into the stickering campaign. HUPD first received a report of an unknown individual placing stickers around campus at 2:10 a.m. on Monday morning, according to the department’s daily logs.

In her email to the Harvard community, Charleston announced an upcoming session on “Understanding Antisemitism,” as well as a community building forum hosted by the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

Charleston wrote that her “goal is to ensure that a broad range of perspectives have voice and that members of our community can feel safe in exploring and expressing a range of ideas,” adding that “creating an environment where debate and discourse can thrive does not mean anyone can or should say anything with impunity.”

The University has yet to provide any additional information on what the “Understanding Antisemitism” session will entail. University spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to provide additional comment beyond Charleston’s letter.

“We will be continuing our work with campus partners including Hillel to offer numerous learning opportunities this year on how antisemitism manifests, including the history and meaning of swastika imagery,” Charleston wrote.

Harvard Hillel Executive Director Jason B. Rubenstein ’04 did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.