Harvard University on Thursday reversed and reinstated a fellowship offer to a prominent human rights activist after reports he was denied the position because of his harsh criticism of Israel, sparking a major controversy.
Kenneth Roth, former director of Human Rights Watch, was offered and accepted a one-year fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy last year.
Roth said the school’s dean, Douglas Elmdorf, vetoed the proposal shortly after it was created in July. He said he had not been informed of the reason for the resolution’s cancellation, but said he thought it was due to his criticism of Israel and donor influence.
Nation The incident, reported earlier this month, tied up Israel’s offer to withdraw and sparked a controversy over academic freedom and criticism of the Jewish state. It was not clear why the claims were not made when Roth was denied the fellowship last summer.
On Thursday, Elmdorf issued a statement saying that it had “made an error” and that the school would again be awarding the fellowship to Roth.
Elmendorf categorically denied that his decision was influenced by donors or politics.
“Donors do not influence our view of academic matters,” Elmdorf said. “My decision was also not made at the Kennedy School to limit debate about human rights to any one country.”
Elmdorf said, “My decision on Mr. Roth last summer was based on my assessment of his potential contribution to the school.”
Douglas Elmdorf, then director of the Congressional Budget Office, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 26, 2015. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Roth said he was “thrilled” that Elmdorf had again extended the fellowship offer, but said the dean had not been forthcoming about his motives and that the episode had chilled academic freedom.
“He still hasn’t said anything about the people who matter to him” whom he said were behind his original veto decision. Full transparency is critical,” Roth said.
“Second, I remain concerned about academic freedom,” Roth continued. “The problem of people being punished for criticizing Israel is not limited to me.”
Roth, the son of a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, ran HRW for three decades before retiring last year. He has since accepted a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
He supported a range of human rights issues with the New York-based group, including a ban on anti-personnel land mines and the establishment of the International Criminal Court for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Roth and HRW are widely admired among human rights activists for their work, but their harsh criticism of Israel, including allegations of war crimes and apartheid, has angered Israeli officials and pro-Israel groups.
HRW released in 2021 A comprehensive report of 213 pages Accused Israel of apartheid. Israel dismissed the report, calling its “fictitious claims … both absurd and false,” and accused HRW of having “a longstanding anti-Israel agenda.”
American Jewish groups also condemned the report, with the American Jewish Congress calling it a “hatchet job” and pro-Israel researchers saying it was riddled with impurities,
israel Expelled HRW’s Israel director in 2019 due to his alleged support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Robert Bernstein, founder of Human Rights Watch, joined the group critics in 2009, saying that it was biased against Israel and was acting in bad faith.
Example: Students walk near the Widener Library in Harvard Yard at Harvard University on August 13, 2019, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (AP/Charles Krupa, File)
Roth repeatedly stated that the fellowship offer was rescinded due to donor influence, but did not provide evidenceadding that it was “the only plausible explanation.”
He said that he and Elmdorf discussed the fellowship after the initial offer and the dean asked if he had “any enemies.”
“I noted that several governments, including Rwanda and Saudi Arabia, hate me. But I had an idea of what he was driving at, so I also noted that the Israeli government undoubtedly hates me as well. That turned out to be the kiss of death, Roth said.
He also said that Professor Katherine Sieckink, who is affiliated with the Carr Center, said the move was due to her alleged “anti-Israel bias”.
Allegations of pro-Israel bias at the university drew widespread criticism this month. Hundreds of Harvard students, faculty, and alumni signed an open letter condemning the “shameful decision to blacklist” Roth. Civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and PEN America also criticized the move.
Former Harvard president Larry Summers called some of Roth’s statements “bordering on anti-Semitic”, but questioned the decision to revoke his fellowship.
The pro-Israel group NGO Monitor criticized Harvard’s decision to reinstate the fellowship offer, saying, “Roth has consistently singled out Israel for specific demonization and delegitimization, using numerous false and distorted claims.” contributed significantly to antisemitism.
Omar Shakir (center), director of New York-based Human Rights Watch for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, speaks with HRW director Kenneth Roth (right) at Ben Gurion airport on November 25, 2019. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League Told The Nation report that sparked the controversy was anti-Semitic and advanced conspiracy theories about Jewish power and financial influence. Greenblatt too Roth condemned in 2021 to justify attacks on Jews in Britain by blaming Israel’s conflict with Gaza that year.
Roth was also criticized by Human Rights Watch in 2012 for accepting a donation from a Saudi company engaged in labor rights abuses on the condition that the rights group would not use the money to advocate for LGBTQ rights in the region. see human rights apologized And returned the money in 2020.
Anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activism on US college campuses become flashpoint issues as Jewish students report good Harassment and exclusion on campuses across America. Campus incidents include the vandalizing of Jewish buildings and except Jewish students From sexual assault support groups.
Federal investigations are probing antisemitism on several US campuses, including Brooklyn College, the University of VermontGeorge Washington University and the University of Southern California.
At Harvard, the student newspaper last year publicly supported the BDS movementstoking a firestorm of controversy, including criticism from dozens of prominent faculty and alumni.
Associated Press and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.