Rabbi David Wolpe announced his resignation Thursday from Harvard University’s antisemitism advisory committee over the university’s woke ideological capture.
Rabbi Wolpe claimed antisemitism in various guises had become prevalent among the staff and student body at Harvard, and said the “events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony” in recent days convinced him he would not be able to make a difference at the university. Wolpe has been on the antisemitism committee since it was formed after the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. (RELATED: Plane Flies Over Harvard Campus Reading ‘Harvard Hates Jews’)
“[T]he system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil,” the rabbi Tweeted.
“Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil. Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities, is a vast and continuing catastrophe. Denying Israel the self-determination as a Jewish nation accorded unthinkingly to others is endemic, and evil,” Wolpe added.
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However, the system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil. Ignoring Jewish suffering is…
— David Wolpe (@RabbiWolpe) December 7, 2023
Rabbi Wolpe, a prominent religious figure, holds a rabbinical position with the Anti-Defamation League, the New York Post reported. Wolpe said he still has respect for the members of the committee and thought Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, was “a kind and thoughtful person,” he wrote to Twitter.
President Gay testified to Congress on Tuesday the school would not punish students for saying antisemitic slurs or phrases, and would only take punitive action if a student acted violently. The testimony ignited a firestorm of criticism even from the White House itself that said calling for violence was “monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country.” Gay clarified Wednesday such calls for violence “have no place at Harvard” and those who issue threats “to Jewish students will be held to account.”
Wolpe said he regarded Gay’s congressional testimony as “very painful,” but did not comment on whether he thought she should resign, according to the Harvard Crimson, the university’s newspaper. Wolpe told the outlet the university needs to do some deep soul searching to combat its antisemitism problem.