{"id":2217951,"date":"2024-04-10T21:11:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T01:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-harvard-students-set-to-skirt-bylaws-to-hold-anti-israel-referendum-vote\/"},"modified":"2024-04-10T21:15:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T01:15:12","slug":"radical-harvard-students-set-to-skirt-bylaws-to-hold-anti-israel-referendum-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-harvard-students-set-to-skirt-bylaws-to-hold-anti-israel-referendum-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard students plan to bypass rules for anti-Israel vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fradical-harvard-students-set-to-skirt-bylaws-to-hold-anti-israel-referendum-vote%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2217951&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Harvard students are pushing for a referendum on \u2062divesting from Israel, potentially violating rules. A petition quickly gathered\u2063 needed signatures triggering a college-wide vote. The proposed question focuses on divesting from entities supporting Israel&#8217;s actions in Gaza and Palestine. The move has sparked controversy, with concerns over violating bylaws and potential impacts on Jewish students&#8217; feelings of inclusion.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anti-Israel student activists at Harvard University are pushing forward with a referendum on whether the school should divest from Israel, a move that may violate rules barring the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tennessee-professor-forced-to-undergo-training-for-referencing-tupac-album-with-racial-slur\/\" title=\"Tennessee Professor Forced To Undergo Training For Referencing Tupac Album With Racial Slur\">undergraduate student government<\/a> from taking positions on global issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A petition launched on Tuesday gathered the 195 signatures needed to trigger a college-wide referendum in just three hours, according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/4\/10\/divestment-petition-israel-palestine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harvard Crimson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The undergraduate push follows <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/harvard-law-students-amend-bylaws-to-enact-secret-ballot-ahead-of-vote-to-boycott-israel\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harvard Law School<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  and Harvard Divinity School\u2019s student governments voting to divest from the Jewish State in recent weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If referendum bylaws are followed and signatures are verified, the vote will be held within three weeks and include the proposed question: \u201cShould Harvard divest from institutions that profit from and\/or aid Israel\u2019s war on Gaza and the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Two Harvard students told The Daily Wire that the petition is a violation of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1OkwkJenKI9kRywA1fZyyjdSipJ-oiVQ-Ub-R-Z6Cflc\/edit#heading=h.rhbc0bvazhl2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">student government bylaws<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which state the Harvard Undergraduate Association can \u201cnot publish statements on world or campus issues\/events.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/harvard-law-students-resign-from-student-govt-over-secret-ballot-anti-israel-vote\">Harvard Law Students Resign From Student Govt Over Secret Ballot Anti-Israel Vote<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe HUA\u2019s bylaws, written after the previous student government body <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2022\/4\/6\/cheng-resigns-uc-president\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was dissolved<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in part because of their willingness to issue political statements, prohibits statements on campus or world events,\u201d a Harvard undergraduate told The Daily Wire. \u201cAdditionally, HUA resolutions can only be used \u2018to set HUA policy,\u2019 and the HUA has no policy regarding Israel or Harvard\u2019s investment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The student, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from peers, added that it\u2019s a violation of bylaws to join \u201cpolitical movements\u201d and to use \u201cleading questions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHarvard leadership has made clear that it opposes calls for a policy of boycotting Israel and its academic institutions,\u201d a Harvard spokesman said in a statement. \u201cIn the words of former President Bacow, responding to a 2022 editorial in The Harvard Crimson that had endorsed the Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement, \u2018targeting or boycotting a particular group because of disagreements over the policies pursued by their governments is antithetical to what we stand for as a University,\u2019 and \u2018academic boycotts have absolutely no place at Harvard, regardless of who they target.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 195 signature threshold is determined by taking 10 percent of the total number of students that voted in the 2023 Harvard Undergraduate\u2019s Association (HUA) elections, per the bylaws.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAs the university discusses institutional neutrality during a time of genocide, sign NOW to tell Harvard to divest from Israel\u2019s war crimes against Palestinians,\u201d the anti-Israel student group Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee wrote in an Instagram post with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C5jO04jpyPX\/?img_index=1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">petition link<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The post cites reporting from the Harvard Crimson, which found that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2020\/3\/19\/harvard-israel-palestine-investments\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harvard invested<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  $200 million in companies tied to the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/harvard-accused-of-promoting-eco-terrorism-for-plans-to-screen-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-film\"><b>Harvard Accused Of Promoting Eco-Terrorism For Plans To Screen \u2018How To Blow Up A Pipeline\u2019 Film<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a now-deleted post, the group expressed that all signatures will be kept secret and only known to the election commission chair Behruz Mahmadov, two administrators, and the petitioners Shraddha Joshi and Asmer Asrar Safi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just four days after Hamas\u2019s deadly attack on Israeli civilians, Safi, a Rhodes Scholar, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/Sih4e\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">shared a photo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  of a former leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ghassan Kanafani.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_721537\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-721537\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Harvard student and Rhodes Scholar Asmer Asrar Safi posted an image of Ghassan Kanafani, a former leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist group PFLP just days after Hamas\u2019s massacre of civilians in Israel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThinking about the words of Ghassan Kanafani as Harvard faces one of its most intense onslaughts of doxxing, intimidation and harassment,\u201d he tweeted. \u201cHere\u2019s to rejecting occupation and apartheid in the face of everything today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A quote from Kanafani was removed from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/harvard-hires-24-7-security-to-protect-anti-israel-apartheid-wall-featuring-quote-from-famous-terrorist\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harvard\u2019s anti-Israel \u201capartheid wall\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  last week after media attention that the students platformed a man who was linked to the massacre of 26 people\u2014including American tourists\u2014at Ben Gurion airport in 1972, according to the Mossad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Joshi has a long history of anti-Israel activism and was a member of one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-scales-back-bias-response-teams-after-legal-challenge\/\" title=\"College Scales Back \u2018Bias Response\u2019 Teams After Legal Challenge\">student groups<\/a> that co-organized a statement blaming Israel for Hamas\u2019 attack just a day after it happened, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/canarymission.org\/individual\/Shraddha_Joshi\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">according to Canary Mission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThere should be no surprise in this effort coming as it does from a group that is no longer antisemitic in effect, but antisemitic in their intent, words, and actions,\u201d Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi told The Daily Wire. \u201cWhat remains to be seen is to what degree faculty will continue to remain silent in the face of the rising Jew-hate that is defiantly being promulgated on campus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/video-anti-israel-mob-at-harvard-chants-outside-israeli-popstar-ishay-ribos-concert\"><b>VIDEO: Anti-Israel Mob At Harvard Chants Outside Israeli Popstar Ishay Ribo\u2019s Concert<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another Harvard student said the referendum can intensify \u201cthe alienation that Jewish students, particularly those from Israel, have felt since October by signaling to them that they do not have a place in the student body.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhat is important to note is that on campus the divestment campaign has been framed as one against genocide,\u201d the student added. \u201cThe referendum seeks divestment from any organization linked to Israel. There is a prevailing belief, as the petition shows, that even remote support for the Jewish state means support for genocide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/harvard-employee-harasses-jewish-student-suing-school-for-anti-semitism-asks-to-debate-9-11-conspiracies\"><b>Harvard Employee Harasses Jewish Student Suing School For Anti-Semitism, Asks To Debate 9\/11 Conspiracies<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The student also asked to remain anonymous because of the belief system that fuels the petition, and because the student fears peers \u201cwill use the illusion of the moral high ground to ostracize their classmates in both social and academic circles.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A University <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/4\/10\/divestment-petition-israel-palestine\/#:~:text=A%20University%20statement%20released%20last,petition%20to%20officially%20gather%20signatures.\">statement<\/a> released last week said, \u201cHarvard leadership has made clear that it opposes calls for a policy of boycotting Israel and its academic institutions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Harvard\u2019s interim president Alan Garber launched working groups last week to explore if and how the university should make statements on political issues. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIn recent months and years, we have heard clearly that many in our community feel constrained in their ability to express their views on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-are-pivotal-questions-mcconnell-blasts-biden-scotus-nominee-for-lack-of-candor-evading-questions\/\" title=\"\u2018These Are Pivotal Questions\u2019: McConnell Blasts Biden SCOTUS Nominee For Lack Of Candor, Evading Questions\">critically important questions<\/a>,\u201d Garber and Interim Harvard Provost John Manning <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/4\/5\/garber-institutional-neutrality-group\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote in an email<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u201cMore and more members of our community have also asked whether and when the University should use its official voice to address matters of social and political significance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">UPDATE: This article has been updated to include a statement from Harvard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Harvard University, student activists are advocating for a referendum to decide on divestment from Israel, potentially contravening regulations preventing the student government from engaging in global matters. A petition initiated on Tuesday swiftly amassed the required 195 signatures to prompt a campus-wide vote within three days<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3030,"featured_media":2217952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1724313543-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2217951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1724313543-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3030"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2217951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2217952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2217951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2217951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2217951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}