Harvard’s Dean of Students Office reinstated the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee as a recognized campus organization after suspending the group for five months for helping to organize an anti-Israel protest without permission.
The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee was placed on probation in March and temporarily suspended in April for failing to register a protest and violating guidelines on the responsible use of space, National Review previously reported.
“For the past 6 months, [Palestine Solidarity Committee] has faced unprecedented repression — doxxing, racist harassment, and targeted administrative crackdowns — as we’ve protested the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the student group said in April when announcing its suspension.
College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo confirmed in a statement on Monday that the group “successfully completed the requirements for reinstatement,” according to the student-run publication The Harvard Crimson. As a reinstated organization, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee has access to reserve space on campus, access university mailing lists, and apply for funding.
“As the ongoing genocide in Gaza nears a year, come mourn the over 40,000 martyrs killed by the Zionist entity,” the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee said on social media this week when advertising its upcoming Thursday event titled “Vigil: There is no school back in Gaza.”
National Review previously reported that the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the African and African American Resistance Organization jointly posted infographics with antisemitic tropes. The Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine also shared the images. The three groups later deleted the images and issued apologies.
In the since-deleted Instagram posts, the Harvard organizations shared an infographic that included a drawing of a hand with the Star of David and a dollar sign holding ropes around the necks of two non-white men. There is a second arm wielding a machete to cut the rope. The words beside the arm say “Third World,” while the machete says “Liberation Movement.” The cartoon was published in a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s June-July 1967 newsletter.
This was posted today by ‘Harvard faculty and staff for justice in Palestine.’ The cartoon is despicably, inarguably antisemitic. Is there no limit? pic.twitter.com/maMYwXJ7rz
— David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe) February 19, 2024
“In an earlier version of this post we shared an image that was not reflective of our values as organizations,” reads the apology jointly released by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the African and African American Resistance Organization. “We reiterate our unending support for solidarity between Black and Palestinian communities and have updated our post to reflect what we stand for. Our mutual goals for liberation will always include the Jewish community — and we regret inadvertently including an image that played upon antisemitic tropes.”
Harvard University provided a statement in February to National Review via email.
“The University is aware of social media posts today containing deeply offensive antisemitic tropes and messages from organizations whose membership includes Harvard affiliates,” said a Harvard spokesperson. “Such despicable messages have no place in the Harvard community. We condemn these posts in the strongest possible terms.”