Palestinian Harvard Student Says She Was Targeted in Act of Vandalism

An undergraduate course assistant for Math 1b — Harvard’s introductory calculus course — alleged she was targeted for her Palestinian identity after a pro-Palestine sticker was removed from her water bottle and replaced with the word “Israel.”

Jonier Amaral Antunes, the course’s head instructor, wrote in an email sent to students on Sept. 26 that he had “recently heard that a Math 1b staff member’s property was vandalized in a way that targeted their Palestinian identity.”

“The event’s timing suggests that a Math 1b community member may have been involved in the vandalism,” Antunes wrote.

The Crimson reviewed photographs of the water bottle and emails the course assistant exchanged with course staff and administrators. The course assistant spoke with The Crimson on the condition of anonymity, citing fears of online harassment.

Harvard College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo confirmed the student’s account of her communications with Harvard personnel.

The course assistant said that she was very open about her Palestinian identity from the start of the semester, telling all Math 1b students that she hailed from Palestine when staff introduced themselves during the first lecture.

She had also affixed three stickers to her water bottle that depicted two cats wearing keffiyehs — traditional Palestinian scarves — and the phrase “Cats 4 Palestine.”

On Sept. 11, when the course assistant was teaching a Math 1b section in the Science Center, she left her water bottle on a table in the back of the classroom as she worked one-on-one with students. She noticed before the end of class that the water bottle had disappeared and, after searching the room, did not find it.

After the class, the course assistant contacted a Math 1b graduate teaching fellow, who sent an email to the class later that day asking if anyone had taken the water bottle by accident.

“If it has somehow ended up in someone’s bag by mistake, could you bring it to our section on Friday so she can get it back?” the teaching fellow wrote.

The next week, on Sept. 19, the course assistant returned to the same room in the Science Center to attend office hours for another class. The water bottle appeared on the same table where she had originally left it, but the “Cats 4 Palestine” sticker had been removed and someone had etched “Israel” in its place.

The course assistant said in an interview that she believes she was specifically targeted for being a Palestinian student on campus.

​​“I don’t think I was targeted because I’m Arab or Muslim,” she said. “I think I was targeted because I am Palestinian and I am not afraid to be proud of and express my identity.”

The student described her account of finding the water bottle in a Sept. 20 email to Math 1b staff and in a Sept. 23 email to her House’s resident dean.

In both emails, the course assistant wrote that she thought she was targeted based on her Arab and Palestinian identity.

The student’s resident dean and the Math 1b course heads both directed her to Meghan G. Lockwood, who serves as a local designated resource for College students navigating Harvard’s non-discrimination and anti-bullying procedures.

The course assistant said she is currently in the process of filing a complaint under Harvard’s NDAB policy.

NDAB complaints first undergo an initial review conducted by a school official serving as the local designated resource for the case. If a complaint passes review, the University may initiate an investigation into the allegations.

The incident comes amid a rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism on Harvard’s campus. Earlier this year, a freshman student alleged her mezuzah — a piece of parchment many Jewish people place outside their homes — was intentionally removed from her doorway.

Last fall, many Palestinian students and pro-Palestine student activists faced doxxing attacks and in-person harassment. Many Jewish and Israeli students have also expressed heightened concern about being targeted for their beliefs and identities.

The University’s task forces on combatting antisemitism and anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian bias — first announced in January — both released preliminary reports in June describing a pattern of discrimination and exclusion against both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel students. The task forces are expected to publish their final recommendations later this semester.

In a statement, Palumbo reiterated the College’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment on campus.

“We want Harvard to be a place where every student feels welcome and have layers of resources available for students seeking support,” he wrote.

—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson can be reached at tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tillyrobin.