Harvard and Columbia students who blamed Israel for the attack by Hamas have landed in trouble as many top executives have urged companies to not hire any of them. While some CEOs have announced on social media that they won't hire any students who justified the attack, Davis Polk & Wardwell, a New York-based law firm, has withdrawn offer letters to three such students from Harvard and Columbia.
Davis Polk's managing partner Neil Barr said views expressed in the letter "are simply contrary to our firm’s values", according to Hindustan Times. He said student leaders who signed onto the statements were "no longer welcome in our firm".
A letter from Harvard University student groups recently blamed Israel for the worst attack carried out by Hamas. The letter, which was co-signed by 33 student groups, said: "Today's events did not occur in a vacuum. The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years."
The letter sparked angry reactions on social media, with many demanding the university take action against the students involved.
American hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said he had been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the university organisations that issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas' heinous acts to Israel, "so as to ensure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members".
"If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known," Ackman said in a detailed post on X. "One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists, who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other inconceivably despicable acts."
The University of Pennsylvania also faced flak for organising an event, which was attended by speakers with a history of antisemitic comments. Two major donors of the university have halted donations after Hamas' attack on Israel. In a letter, David Magerman, an investor and donor, said he was "ashamed" to be associated with the university following the "Palestine Writes" festival that took place on campus in September.
"I am deeply ashamed of my association with the University of Pennsylvania. I refuse to donate another dollar to Penn," he said. "There is no action anyone at Penn can take to change that. I’m not asking for any actions. You have shown me who you are. My only remaining hope is that all self-respecting Jews, and all moral citizens of the world, dissociate themselves from Penn."