Pro-Palestine Activists Denounce Harvard, Israel on Anniversary of Oct. 7 Attacks

The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee stated that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks demonstrated “apartheid cannot stand” and called for renewed campus activism in a statement on Monday, the one-year anniversary of the war in Israel and Gaza.

“One year ago today, Gaza broke through Israel’s blockade, showing the world that the ongoing Nakba and apartheid cannot stand,” the PSC wrote in a post on Instagram. Nakba, which translates to “catastrophe” in Arabic, references the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the subsequent displacement of Palestinians.

The post comes one year after the PSC drew national backlash for a similar statement published on Oct. 8, 2023 that held Israel “entirely responsible for all the unfolding violence,” and as University President Alan M. Garber ’76 has sought to bridge divides between students and faculty members on campus while also cracking down on protests.

Last year’s post drew widespread condemnation and marked the start of intense turmoil that divided the student body and sparked national criticism of the University’s leadership.

Monday’s statement — co-signed by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, the African and African American Resistance Organization, and Harvard Jews for Palestine — condemned the “University’s callous disregard for Palestinian life.”

A Harvard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.

Harvard Hillel Israel Chair Daniel O. Denenberg ’26 criticized the PSC’s post as “dangerously antisemitic.”

“The post’s defense of October 7th demonstrates a vile moral decay. In portraying October 7th as a legitimate resistance, they justify Hamas’ actions on that horrible day — the rape, murder, and mutilation of 1200 of my people,” Denenberg wrote in a statement. “A year after they explained away Hamas’ attack, they shamelessly showed us again that when Jewish blood is shed, it is always justified in their eyes.”

The PSC’s statement may further inflame tensions at Harvard, where students and faculty have been deeply divided over the war in Gaza.

The Monday post urged pro-Palestine student activists to ramp up protests during a semester with significantly fewer demonstrations compared to the previous academic year. In the spring, activists affiliated with HOOP staged a 20-day occupation of Harvard Yard.

“Now is the time to escalate,” the PSC wrote on Monday.

“Harvard continues to defend its investments in this genocidal regime despite repeated student and faculty demands for disclosure and divestment,” they wrote. “Harvard’s insistence on funding slaughter only strengthens our moral imperative and commitment to our demands.”

Though pro-Palestine student activists have mostly avoided large-scale, disruptive actions since students returned to campus in September, Harvard administrators have sought to discourage even quieter forms of protests.

More than 12 students were banned from Widener Library last week for staging a silent “study-in” protest while holding signs and wearing keffiyehs — traditional Palestinian scarves.

In January, Garber formed twin presidential task forces to combat antisemitism and anti-Arab bias on campus. In September, Garber met with representatives from HOOP to discuss the University’s endowment amid their demands for Harvard to divest from Israel.

Despite the University’s efforts to soothe tensions, the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks demonstrated that deep divisions remain on campus.

Harvard President Alan Garber '76 attended a vigil hosted by Harvard Hillel and Harvard Chabad on the steps of Widener Library on Monday. By Frank S. Zhou

On Monday evening, Garber attended a vigil in the Yard organized by Harvard Hillel and Harvard Chabad to mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks and the hostages that remain in captivity in Gaza.

Hours earlier, a billboard truck drove through Harvard Square displaying anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab messaging that appeared to specifically target pro-Palestine student protesters.

A Harvard spokesperson said the Harvard University Police Department “was made aware of the presence of the truck in the Harvard Square area.”

Over the past year, billboard trucks have frequented the streets surrounding Harvard’s campus, criticizing University leadership, displaying anti-Palestinian messaging, and doxxing pro-Palestine students.

In October 2023, a “doxxing truck” drove around Harvard’s campus displaying the names and faces of students who were a part of organizations that signed onto the controversial PSC letter.

The truck was a part of a doxxing campaign against pro-Palestine students, several of whom had their full names, photos, and personal information posted on websites and social media accounts that labeled them as “terrorist sympathizers” and antisemites.

In their Monday statement, the PSC mourned the 41,000 Palestinians killed during a year of war, and referenced student activism during the South African anti-apartheid movement and the Vietnam War-era anti-war protests.

“It is in this tradition that the student intifada rises to demand that Harvard end all support for death and colonialism in Palestine and beyond,” the PSC wrote.

“Our role in the United States, at Harvard, in the imperial core, is to remain unflinching in our solidarity,” the PSC added. “After a year of genocide, military campaigns, and forced displacement, we only grow more committed to the struggle for a liberated Palestine.”

—Staff writer Madeleine A. Hung can be reached at madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.