Student groups pull back on controversial Israel-Hamas statements

College students in the U.S. are facing strong pushback after organizations at multiple schools released statements on the Hamas conflict that appeared to defend the loss of life in Israel.

One of the most controversial statements came from Harvard, where a group of more than 30 student-led groups signed a letter saying that Israel was “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” happening in the region, which has seen at least hundreds killed on both sides after Hamas’s original attack on Saturday.

The statement, led by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, has since removed the names of its signing groups for safety reasons, while at least five of the organizations that originally signed the letter have withdrawn their support. Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream, the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, the Harvard Islamic Society and the Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo have pulled back their original endorsement of the letter, according to The Harvard Crimson.  

Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo put out a statement on Instagram “to formally apologize” for its involvement in the letter and to “clarify that we stand in solidarity with both Israeli and Palestinian victims and families.”

“Harvard Undergraduate Ghungroo strictly denounces and condemns the massacre propagated by the terrorist organization Hamas,” the statement reads.

The letter also saw condemnation from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for its failure to denounce Hamas’s actions.

“Terrorism is never justified nor someone else’s fault. As hundreds of Israelis and others, including several Americans, remain kidnapped, injured, or dead, the 31 Harvard organizations that signed a letter holding Israel ‘entirely responsible’ for Hamas’ barbarous terrorism should be condemned, as should Harvard leadership for whom silence is complicity,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) before Harvard’s president released a statement on the matter. “I cannot recall a moment when I’ve been more embarrassed by my alma mater.”

The University of Virginia’s Students for Justice in Palestine also drew sharp criticism for its statement that the violent attack on Israel was “a step towards a free Palestine.” The group is participating in a “Day of Resistance” Thursday with its national organization, which said this was a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity.”

And New York University Student Bar Association President Ryna Workman lost a promised job with law firm Winston & Strawn after putting a statement in the group’s student newsletter that said “Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life” and refused to condemn Hamas for the attack.

“These comments are profoundly in conflict with Winston & Strawn’s values as a firm. Accordingly, the Firm has rescinded the law student’s offer of employment,” the law firm said in a statement. “As communicated yesterday to all Winston personnel, we remain outraged and deeply saddened by the violent attack on Israel over the weekend. Our hearts go out to our Jewish colleagues, their families, and all those affected.” 

Other pro-Palestinian student organizations, however, have made a concerted effort to distance themselves from Hamas’s actions.

“We just stand for peace, it’s an emotional conflict,” one member of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee at Indiana University told the student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student.

“We don’t represent Hamas, and we don’t condone the actions of Hamas. But we also don’t condone the actions of the Israeli military. We do not want to see Palestinian children or Israeli children killed in this siege. It is a tragic event, and we hope things deescalate as soon as they can,” the student added.

The tension on college campuses over the situation has caused university leadership to even step in in some cases. 

“Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region,” Harvard University President Claudine Gay wrote in a statement after the student-led group letter was released. 

“Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 students groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership,” she added.

The Presidential Blog for the University of Washington lamented the attack on Israel while pleading for calm heads on campus as fears of antisemitism and anti-Arab violence will rise in the U.S. due to the conflict. 

“And at a time when we have seen increased acts of antisemitism and anti-Muslim and anti-Arab violence, I want to reiterate that we must not allow our opinions, grief or anger about the conflict to spill over into abusive behavior or harassment of anyone — civility remains a core value of our academic community,” the blog reads.