Harvard University has found itself embroiled in yet another antisemitism controversy, prompting interim president Alan Garber to issue a statement condemning a racist cartoon shared by two student groups and a faculty organization.The row was reignited after the faculty group Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine reposted on social media an old cartoon containing offensive anti-Jewish tropes. The cartoon, originally shared by the student groups Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and Africa and African American Resistance Organization, depicts a Jewish figure hanging a black man and an Arab, according to reporting by the Harvard Crimson student newspaper.The inflammatory 1967 cartoon shows a hand marked with a Star of David and dollar sign holding nooses around caricatures of civil rights activist Muhammad Ali and former Egyptian president Gamal Nasser. A black arm swinging a machete labelled liberation movement and the words third world are also depicted. The students had claimed they posted the image to highlight the African peoples profound understanding of apartheid and occupation.However, Jewish groups condemned the sharing of the blatantly antisemitic image as yet another sign that Harvard is failing to protect its Jewish community from hatred. Rabbi David Wolpe, a Harvard Divinity School scholar who resigned from the universitys antisemitism advisory committee in December, called the cartoon despicably, inarguably antisemitic.Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Divinity School student suing Harvard for discrimination, expressed outrage, saying professors sharing such images make Jewish students feel unsafe in class.In the wake of the backlash, Walter Johnson, a History and African and African American Studies professor, stepped down as faculty adviser to the Palestine Solidarity Committee student group and from the faculty organization that reposted the cartoon. The faculty group also apologised and removed the post, acknowledging the images were offensive and hurtful.Harvards Garber strongly condemned the propagation of antisemitic tropes in his statement, saying it went against the universitys values. Harvard has initiated an investigation into the matter and may discipline the student groups involved.The controversy comes as Harvard faces growing scrutiny over its handling of campus antisemitism after clashes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2022. Several prominent Jewish alumni have halted donations in protest, while congressional subpoenas were recently issued over Harvards lack of cooperation with an antisemitism probe. The latest scandal will likely intensify pressure on Harvard to take decisive action against anti-Jewish racism on campus.
