Stand With Jewish Students at Harvard

Dear fellow members of Harvard’s Jewish Community,

These are deeply challenging times on campus. The antipathy towards Israelis and the pervasive anti-Zionism we’ve witnessed since October 7 didn’t spring from nowhere – and won’t be combated through public gestures and social media posts alone. It took years for Harvard to reach this point, and it will take sustained, focused work to create meaningful change. Harvard Hillel is leading that work.

Through consistent advocacy and dedicated effort, we’re creating tangible progress. Highlights of our work this semester include:

• Successfully advocated for and implemented Project Shema training for over 300 university staff, faculty, and student leaders – from tutors and proctors to EDIB staff throughout the university – equipping them with tools to address antisemitism in their day-to-day work. This was achieved despite resistance from anti-Israel forces on campus who publicly expressed their “unease” with having antisemitism training at Harvard.
• Provided vital support to Jewish and Israeli students facing discrimination and ostracization, helping them document their experiences and navigate complex university processes. We’ve established weekly strategy lunches bringing together Jewish and Israeli students, staff, and faculty from across Harvard to share experiences, organize responses, and develop effective tactics.
• Led two powerful vigils: On September 1st, we gathered over 300 members of our community on the Science Center plaza to mourn Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l and the other hostages murdered in Rafah. The entire Harvard Jewish community stood united – from the Harvard Jewish Coalition and Harvard Chabad, to the Law School’s Alliance for Israel, HBS’s Jewish Students Association, and Jewish student groups across Harvard’s schools – demonstrating our unmistakable voice of moral clarity and loving solidarity. And on the anniversary of October 7, we brought together over 400 members of our community – including President Garber and College leadership – for an evening of remembrance, prayer, and solidarity.
• Achieved unprecedented institutional responses to antisemitism. When Harvard Hillel was targeted by an antisemitic sticker campaign depicting a swastika inside of the Israeli flag, our strong relationship with the administration pushed the University to send a powerful message in support of Jews and Israelis on campus. In a university-wide email, Harvard’s Chief Diversity Officer, Sherri A. Charleston, declared the equation of Israel with Nazism to be “deeply hurtful and offensive” and “anathema to the university values that bind us together and that which we must hold dear.”
• When protesters chanted “Zionists are not welcome here” outside Harvard Hillel, we successfully advocated for the University Chaplains to issue a statement condemning the chant as “disturbing and anathema to the dialogue and connection across lines of difference that must be a central value and practice of a pluralistic institution of higher learning.”
• This was followed by the strongest denunciation of anti-Zionism in the history of Harvard University, when President Garber told the Crimson, “I do believe that saying ‘Zionists are not welcome here’ is deeply offensive when it refers to a University space, and it certainly would violate our policy if it was used in any way to deny access to a University space.”
• Secured direct involvement in shaping university policy, with two of our staff members serving on subcommittees of the forthcoming Anti-Semitism Task Force. We’re actively preparing for the next phase – implementing the task force’s recommendations and ensuring sustained attention to these issues long after the headlines fade.
• These high-profile achievements represent just a fraction of our work – every week, we’re engaged in dozens of equally significant but less visible efforts to strengthen Jewish life at Harvard and combat antisemitism.

As you can see, our deep relationships across Harvard are producing results. But meaningful change requires sustained effort. There are hundreds of decisions being made around Harvard every day that affect Jewish life. Influencing these outcomes requires building and maintaining strong relationships where we have both trust and leverage – relationships we’ve cultivated over years of dedicated work.

Your contribution directly enables us to expand our advocacy work, provide more training sessions, and offer increased support services to students facing antisemitism. We’re staffing up to implement the forthcoming task force recommendations and ensure Harvard remains focused on these issues for the long term.

Our students need your support now more than ever. Make your tax-deductible gift today to help ensure Jewish life thrives at Harvard, even in these challenging times.

Make a Tax Deductible Donation Today

With gratitude,

Rabbi Getzel Davis
Campus Rabbi