Harvard condemns ‘flagrantly antisemitic’ cartoon

Harvard University condemned a “flagrantly antisemitic” cartoon posted by three groups affiliated with the school amid a congressional investigation into related issues on the campus.

The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the African American Resistance Organization posted a cartoon depicting a noose tied around the necks of an Arab man and a Black man with a hand holding the rope that contains a Star of David and a money sign. The cartoon was reposted by the Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.

The groups have since apologized, and a statement was posted by Harvard interim President Alan Garber condemning the image.

“While the groups associated with the posting or sharing of the cartoon have since sought to distance themselves from it in various ways, the damage remains, and our condemnation stands,” Garber said.

“As members of an academic community, we can and we will disagree, sometimes vehemently, on matters of public concern and controversy, including hotly contested issues relating to the war in Israel and Gaza, and the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Garber said in the statement. “But it is grossly irresponsible and profoundly offensive when that disagreement devolves into forms of expression that demonize individuals because of their religion, race, nationality, or other aspects of their identity.” 

The two groups that initially posted the cartoon released a statement Tuesday saying they posted an image with “hurtful antisemitic tropes” and they “wholeheartedly apologize.”  

The incident comes amid a congressional investigation into antisemitism on campus, with the House Education Committee recently subpoenaing Harvard for not handing over sufficient documents on the issue.

“This repugnant antisemitism should have no place in our society, much less on Harvard’s faculty,” the committee posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.