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Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer announced that he and his wife are resigning
from the Harvard Kennedy School's executive board because of the school president’s response to a student letter that blamed Israel for the
terrorist attack on their country.

Ofer released a statement explaining that he and his wife, Batia, resigned
"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," according to a report from the New
York Post.

The decision comes after a letter, which was titled "Joint Statement by
Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine" and
signed by 31 student groups, condemned Israel after the country faced a surprise attack from Hamas earlier this month.

"We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime
entirely responsible for all unfolding violence," the letter read. "The apartheid regime is the only one to blame."

"Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for
75 years," the letter continued. "From systematized land seizures to
routine airstrikes, arbitrary detentions, to military checkpoints, and
enforced family separations to targeted killings, Palestinians have been
forced to live in a state of death, both slow and sudden."

The letter drew immediate backlash from across the U.S., which only grew
as the school and Harvard President Claudine Gay offered nothing but
silence in response.

After calls to condemn the letter grew, Gay released a video response last
week arguing that she does condemn the Hamas attacks but noting that she "embraces a commitment to free expression" on campus, a right that
"extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even
outrageous."

"People have asked me where we stand. So let me be clear. Our university rejects terrorism. That includes the barbaric atrocities perpetrated by
Hamas. Our university rejects hate. Hate of Jews. Hate of Muslims. Hate of
any group of people based on their faith, their national origin, or any
aspect of their identity. Our university rejects the harassment or
intimidation of individuals based on their beliefs," Gay said.

Harvard's president also noted that "students have the right to speak for themselves," but cautioned that "no student group – not even 30 student
groups – speaks for Harvard University or its leadership."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/billionaire-quits-harvard-board-student-letter- supports-hamas-israel

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