[A Palestinian woman sitting on the rubbles of a residential building destroyed in the Israeli bombings.]
Washington: In another instance exposing the true nature of freedom of expression in the Western World, an Israeli billionaire resigned from the Harvard board merely because students expressed solidarity with the Palestinians and protested against the Israeli aggression.
Idan Ofer, an Israeli shipping tycoon with a multi-billion-dollar fortune, and his wife Batia resigned from their roles as board members at Harvard's Kennedy School accusing the university president of keeping silence on the students’ “pro-Palestinian” stand.
As many as 30 Harvard student organizations had expressed solidarity with the Palestinians and blamed the far-right Zionist regime in Israel for the Hamas’ Operation Al Aqas Storm that killed more than 1,200 people.
In a letter released to the media the student organisations said they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence".
“Millions of Palestinians are forced to live in an open air prison with no means of escaping retaliatory air strikes that have killed more than 1,000 and displaced many more as entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble by the Israeli military”, the Harvard student organizations said referring to the round the clock bombing of Gaza Strip.
The Israeli forces are bombing Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,500 people in Gaza and West Bank since Saturday October 07, 2023 when Hamas fighters stormed into the Palestinian territories currently under occupation and under Israeli control by air, land and sea.
The Hamas militants also took around 150 people hostages and want to exchange these hostages with the Palestinians who are languishing in different Israeli jails.
The Palestinians said the Hamas attack was the response of continuous provocation, intimidation and targeting of the Palestinians at the hands of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Illegal settlers, and the new Middle East map displayed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the 78h Session of UN General Assembly.
The students highlighted these facts in the letter.
"We call on the Harvard community to take action to stop the ongoing annihilation of Palestinians”, they said.
The students’ just stand however did not go down well with the Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and he along with his wife resigned from the Harvard board.
While talking to Hebrew-language outlet TheMarker Batia Ofer confirmed that she and her husband have quit the school's executive board.
She said they resigned from the board "over President Claudine Gay's response to 31 Harvard organizations signing a letter placing the blame on Israel for Hamas' brutal attacks that have killed over 1,200."
"Their actions are 'in protest of the shocking and insensitive response by the president of the university, who did not condemn the letter by student organizations who blamed Israel for the massacres'", the couple reportedly said. 'We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway,' Harvard administrators wrote in the statement from Monday, credited to Gay.
"Their actions are 'in protest of the shocking and insensitive response by the president of the university, who did not condemn the letter by student organizations who blamed Israel for the massacres'", the couple reportedly said.
'We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway,' Harvard administrators wrote in the statement from Monday, credited to Gay.
The Ofers belong to one of the wealthiest families in Israel, with Idan a majority shareholder of the country's largest holding companies and co-owner of soccer powerhouse Atletico Madrid.
Harvard is yet to respond on the matter.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
