The newly appointed leader of Harvard University’s new anti-Semitism task force has been found to have previously called Israel an “apartheid regime.”
Following the recent departure of former Harvard president Claudine Gay, who stirred controversy with questionable comments about anti-Semitism, interim Harvard president Alan Garber appointed Derek Penslar to lead the task force. Mr. Penslar, a professor of Jewish history, defended Ms. Gay after she received backlash for her unwillingness to acknowledge that calling for the genocide of Jews constitutes bullying or harassment.
The task force was established on Jan. 19 to identify “the root causes of and contributing factors to bias-based behaviors” at the Ivy League school. Simultaneously, Mr. Garber also announced a task force to address “Islamophobia.”
According to the announcement, the groups are “similarly charged” with “Examining recent history and current manifestations of bias; identifying the root causes of and contributing factors to bias-based behaviors on campus; evaluating evidence regarding the characteristics and frequency of these behaviors; recommending approaches to combat bias and to mitigate its impact on campus.”
However, incidents of anti-Muslim bias at the university appear to be much rarer. One incident, reported by the New York Post last month, saw the wife of a Harvard professor sparking outrage after she chastised a student for wearing a “keffiyeh”—calling it a “terrorist scarf.” The item is typically worn by Palestinian supporters.
The establishment of the task force comes in the wake of a civil rights probe launched by the Department of Education in November. The probe was set up after reports of anti-Semitic incidents surfaced at the school, and calls for genocide against Jews were becoming commonplace.
Harvard was sued by a group of Jewish students earlier this month, following allegations of what they referred to as “Jew-bashing,” following chants of “glory to the martyrs” by some pro-Palestinian protesters inside the facility.
The creation of the task force comes after Ms. Gay refused to condemn protesters at a congressional hearing in November after it emerged the protesters had called for genocide against the Jewish people.
Ms. Gay resigned as president of the University due to reports of plagiarism in her academic research.
Mr. Penslar has made some highly controversial statements relating to Israel, raising questions about his suitability for leading the task force. He has been critical of movements that call for the boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel, but has promoted other ideas that have fueled anti-Semitic sentiment and calls for the annihilation of Israel.
This includs an open letter Mr. Penslar signed in August last year, alongside nearly 3,000 co-signatories, calling Israel an “apartheid regime” over its treatment of Palestinians.
“There cannot be democracy for Jews in Israel as long as Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid,” according to the letter titled “The elephant in the room,” which condemns what it called “Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestine.”
The signatories of the letter accuse Israel of growing more “right-wing” and promoting a “messianic, homophobic, and misogynistic agenda” under Israel’s current government. It further called for the end of American military aid being used in “occupied territories.”
Mr. Penslar has written books about Jewish history and the founding of Israel. In 2021, he voiced support for the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.
“I share Cary Nelson’s concerns about rising antisemitism and about how hostility toward Jews and Israel can be intertwined,” he said at the time, according to Fathom Journal.
NTD has reached out to Mr. Penslar and Harvard University, but did not receive a response prior to the publication of this article.
