Harvard President Admits: ‘From the River to the Sea’ is Antisemitic

Harvard University President Claudine Gay admitted that the pro-Palestinian slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic, since it implies the destruction of Israel and the genocide of the seven million Jews living there.

In a letter to faculty, staff, students, and alumni, Gay announced that she will be establishing a committee to study the issue of antisemitism and make recommendations. The committee includes notables such as Dara Horn, whose recent book, People Love Dead Jews, argues that the world only has sympathy for Jews as victims, but rarely when Jews assert or defend themselves.

Gay said (emphasis added):

As President, I affirm our commitment to protecting all members of our community from harassment and marginalization, and our commitment to meeting antisemitism head-on, with the determination it demands. Let me reiterate what I and other Harvard leaders have said previously: Antisemitism has no place at Harvard. While confronting any form of hatred is daunting, the challenges we face tackling antisemitism are made all the more so by its pernicious nature and deep historical roots. But we are committed to doing the hard work to address this scourge.

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I also want to reiterate Harvard’s absolute commitment to the safety and wellbeing of every member of our community. Harvard has been and is a place of civil behavior and civil discourse. We do not condone—and will not ignore—antisemitism, Islamophobia, acts of harassment or intimidation, or threats of violence. I have heard from many community members about the incident on the Harvard Business School campus on October 18. That incident is being investigated by the FBI and the Harvard University Police Department. Consistent with our standard practice, once law enforcement’s inquiry is complete, the University will address the incident through its student disciplinary procedures to determine if University policies or codes of conduct have been violated and, if so, take appropriate action.

Finally, I have heard concerns from some about how this important work relating to antisemitism will bear on Harvard’s vital commitment to free expression. Combating antisemitism and fostering free expression are mutually consistent goals. We are at our strongest when we commit to open inquiry and freedom of expression as foundational values of our academic community. At the same time, our community must understand that phrases such as “from the river to the sea” bear specific historical meanings that to a great many people imply the eradication of Jews from Israel and engender both pain and existential fears within our Jewish community. I condemn this phrase and any similarly hurtful phrases.

Harvard has faced international criticism for the administration’s slow response to the Hamas terror attack on October 7 and its reluctance to criticize several dozen student groups who signed a statement blaming Israel for the deaths of its own citizens.

Antisemitic incidents continue to be a problem on campus. The local chapter of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, for example, slandered the Harvard Chabad rabbi, leading him to call for the group to be disbanded, as it was recently at Brandeis University.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.