Larry Summers Lambasts Harvard for Appointing ‘Problematic’ Professor to Chair Antisemitism Panel

Harvard is facing fresh scrutiny from some familiar faces over its choice of co-chairman of a new Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism.On Sunday, a former president of the university, Lawrence Summers, joined the ranks of those critiquing the university for selecting a professor of Jewish history, Derek Penslar, as a co-chair of the new task force.“Given his record, he is unsuited to leading a task force whose function is to combat what is seen by many as a serious antisemitism problem at Harvard,” Mr. Summers said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sunday afternoon.Mr. Summers noted that, “Prof Penslar has publicly minimized Harvard’s antisemitism problem, rejected the definition used by the US government in recent years of antisemitism as too broad, invoked the need for the concept of settler colonialism in analyzing Israel, referred to Israel as an apartheid state and more. While he does not support BDS he has made clear that he sees it as a reasonable position.”The task force under scrutiny is the second attempt by Harvard in recent weeks to address antisemitism on campus. The University’s first iteration, an advisory group to the erstwhile president, Claudine Gay, was announced on October 27th and included a renowned Conservative Rabbi, David Wolpe. However, Rabbi Wolpe resigned from the position shortly after the December 15 congressional hearing of Ms. Gay.Mr. Penslar was chosen by the interim Harvard president, Alan Garber. Mr. Garber announced the creation of the latest iteration of the task force on Friday. It was accompanied by a separate task force to address Islamophobia on campus.Mr. Penslar has a history of extremely critical comments directed at the Jewish state in his publications. In a 2023 book, “Zionism: An Emotional State,” the Harvard professor wrote that, “veins of hatred run through Jewish civilization,” and that “Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians from their land and oppression of those who remain have made it one of the most disliked countries on the planet.”Mr. Penslar also supported Ms. Gay during the criticism she faced for her weak stance on antisemitism. In a statement to the Jewish Telegraph Agency shortly after Ms. Gay’s resignation, Mr. Penslar accused “outsiders” of “exaggerating” the scope of antisemitism on campus.In his post, Mr. Summers said he had no objection to Mr. Penslar serving on the committee itself, calling him “a person of good will without a trace of personal antisemitism who cares deeply about Harvard.” He called his appointment as co-chair of the committee, however, “problematic.”“Could one imagine Harvard appointing as head of an anti-racism task force someone who had minimized the racism problem or who had argued against federal anti-racism efforts?” Mr. Summers said. “This is yet another example of a double standard between anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice.”“As things currently stand, I am unable to reassure Harvard community members, those we are recruiting or prospective students that Harvard is making progress in countering antisemitism,” he concluded.Neither Mr. Penslar nor the Harvard Task Force on antisemitism immediately responded to email requests for comment from the New York Sun.Correction: Member is the correct title that Conservative Rabbi, David Wolpe, had on the Harvard antisemitism advisory group. His position on that body was misstated in an earlier edition.

Larry Summers Lambasts Harvard for Appointing ‘Problematic’ Professor to Chair Antisemitism Panel

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