Harvard Student Newspaper Endorses BDS Movement Against Israel, Sparks Fierce Reactions Online

Jackson RichmanMay 2nd, 2022, 2:37 pm
 
Harvard

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The editorial board of Harvard’s student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, has “finally” endorsed boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning Israel — a major break from its long-held neutrality on the issue.

“We are proud to finally lend our support to both Palestinian liberation and BDS — and we call on everyone to do the same,” wrote the editorial board of the country’s oldest campus daily newspaper.

“We first and foremost wish to extend our sincere support to those who have been and continue to be subject to violence in occupied Palestine, as well as to any and all civilians affected by the region’s bellicosity,” wrote the board. “We are not sure how these words will reach you, or whether they’ll do so at all. But our stance isn’t rooted in proximity or convenience, but rather in foundational principles we must uphold — even if (or perhaps especially when) it proves difficult.”

The board called Israel “America’s favorite first amendment blindspot” and argued that “[c]ompanies that choose to boycott the Jewish state, or otherwise support the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement face legal repercussions in at least 26 states” — referencing laws in states that ban companies that support BDS from doing business as state contractors.

The Crimson cited the case of former Associated Press journalist Emily Wilder, who was fired last year over controversial social media posts, which the Crimson merely labeled as “critical of Israel.”

“As an editorial board, we are acutely aware of the privilege we hold in having an institutional, effectively anonymous byline,” it wrote. “Even on this campus, many of our brave peers advocating for Palestinian liberation can be found on watchlists tacitly and shamefully linking them to terrorism.”

“These twin factors — the extraordinary abuses and our privileged ability to speak to them and face comparatively less unjustified retribution — compel us to take a stand. Palestinians, in our board’s view, deserve dignity and freedom. We support the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement as a means to achieving that goal,” the editorial argued.

The editorial board noted that it did “not take this decision lightly” to endorse BDS.

“BDS remains a blunt approach, one with the potential to backfire or prompt collateral damage in the form of economic hurt,” the authors wrote. “But the weight of this moment — of Israel’s human rights and international law violations and of Palestine’s cry for freedom — demands this step.”

Twitter users on both sides reacted passionately to the editorial. Many on the right slammed the Crimson’s editorial chair, Orlee Marini-Rapoport, who tweeted that she is Jewish and supported the editorial.

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