Owen Whaley ‘24

Chief News Editor

Pro-Israel Demonstration
Photo courtesy of Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Pro-Palestine Demonstration
Photo courtesy of Jeenah Moon/Reuters.

In a Sept. 23 guest lecture in the Hogan Ballroom, Admiral James Stavridis, retired four-star United States naval officer and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, examined threats to the liberal international order. In their efforts to combat Russia and China, he argued, U.S. policymakers should not lose sight of the uniquely unpredictable threats to international peace and security emanating from the Middle East.

Two weeks later, a surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas on Israel left more than a thousand dead, ignited a full-scale war, and sparked renewed tensions among the U.S. and rivals within and beyond the region.

Major institutions have been left to navigate a political minefield as American fighter jets and aircraft carriers leave for the conflict zone. On college campuses around the country, dueling protests have erupted into violent clashes; individual students have faced personal and professional backlash; administrators weigh conflicting pressures from students, faculty, and major donors as they formulate responses to the war.

More than 30 student organizations at Harvard released a joint statement holding “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all the unfolding violence” and calling for “a firm stand against colonial retaliation.” Over the following days, signatories withdrew their endorsements amid widespread outrage and threats of retaliation.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called on the university to release “a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations” that signed onto the letter to ensure that neither he nor other executives “inadvertently hire any of their members” in a tweet that has amassed more than 24 million views. The names and faces of individual students belonging to the groups were displayed on a large billboard truck that drove around Harvard’s campus, and their personal information began to circulate online.

Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, responded to the controversy by stating that “no student group – not even 30 student groups – speaks for Harvard University or its leadership” and condemning “the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.”

Winston & Strawn, a large international law firm, publicly rescinded an offer of employment made to a New York University Law student who had published a letter declaring that “Israel bears full responsibility” for the war. “As communicated yesterday to all Winston personnel, we remain outraged and deeply saddened by the violent attack on Israel over the weekend,” the firm asserted in a statement. “Our hearts go out to our Jewish colleagues, their families, and all those affected.”

Mass gatherings were held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Indiana University. In some instances, tensions gave way to violence. One man was arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting an Israeli student distributing flyers at Columbia University with a stick.

In Worcester, Clark University President David Fithian issued a statement condemning “the horrific attacks in Israel and the violence that is spreading throughout the region,” and Worcester Polytechnic Institute administrators hosted a vigil for peace.

With most of its students away for fall break, Holy Cross’ campus remained quiet in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. President Vincent D. Rougeau lamented “the horrific violence against Israeli civilians by Hamas” and the “devastating warfare in Israel and Gaza” in an October 12 statement, emphasizing the College’s “advocacy, care and commitment to a peaceful and just future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Yet, reminders of the war abroad abound. A planned Oct. 16 lecture by Dr. Alan Rosen, an expert in Holocaust literature who, as Kraft-Hiatt Scholar, has made numerous visits to Holy Cross over the past fifteen years, has been indefinitely postponed. Pax Christi and the Chaplain’s Office hosted an interfaith prayer service for peace on the Hoval on October 17th, offering space for the community “to put our faith into action, together,” and call for an end to violence. Faculty members hastily organized teach-ins to offer space for community members to learn more about the conflict and its context.