Thread by @TheAENetwork

This AEN-organized Harvard Faculty statement is in response to @thecrimson's endorsement of #BDS against #Israel. Any faculty member (any rank, any discipline) at @Harvard can sign and share. 👇 harvardfacultystatement.com

The initial signatories are @TheAENetwork Advisory Board members @jessefried, @sapinker, and @LHSummers.

"While we may not agree with every point in this statement, & there are many diverse perspectives among us on issues of 🇮🇱 policy, the boundaries of academic freedom, & the role of universities as political actors, we are united in our opposition to #BDS & @thecrimson's stance."

"We are deeply concerned about the long-term impact of this recent staff editorial on the morale & well-being of @Harvard Jewish & Zionist students, some of whom have already reported being alienated from the newspaper on account of the inhospitable culture that prevails there."

"We extend our full support to these students who may now be feeling marginalized & demoralized. We also express our steadfast commitment to @Harvard's ties with #Israel, a country that is home to some of the world’s best universities."

"While acknowledging the right of those within our campus community to endorse & advocate for #BDS, we stand firmly opposed to this movement."

"In addition to calling for a wholesale boycott of #Israeli academia, #BDS compromises educational goals by turning the complex and intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a caricature that singles out only one side for blame with a false binary of oppressor vs. oppressed."

"We believe that many well-meaning people with no hate in their hearts, including those at @Harvard, gravitate to the #BDS movement believing that it offers a means for advancing Palestinian rights and peace in the Middle East."

"But the reality is that #BDS merely coarsens the discourse on campus and contributes to #antisemitism."

"In seeking to delegitimize #Israel through diplomatic, economic, academic, & cultural isolation, & by opposing the very notions of Jewish peoplehood & self-determination, #BDS is disrespectful of Jews..."

"Contrary to @thecrimson editorial, & despite its claim to be a movement for social justice, #BDS does not advocate for coexistence, peace building toward a two-state solution, or even dialogue with Israel’s supporters on our campus."

"#BDS negates the importance of #Israel for Jewish continuity and as a refuge and safe haven for Jews who need one."

"#BDS excludes Israel’s remarkable achievements as a post-colonial nation after independence, ignores the country’s relative successes in integrating waves of multi-ethnic & multi-racial communities, & neglects Israel’s own efforts at peace."

"Because of the #BDS movement’s rigid policy of 'anti-normalization,' BDS casts #Israel as uniquely malevolent among nations, with any and all attempts at mutual understanding to be resisted."

"We are saddened that both @thecrimson & @HarvardPSC, to which the Editorial Board gave full-throated support in its editorial, are creating spaces on campus where Jewish & Zionist students are targeted and made to feel unwelcome."

"#Zionism— the right of the Jewish people to a homeland and self-determination—is a millennia-old tradition, with deep roots in Jewish history & religious practice."

"#Zionism is a more recent political response to the utter failure to produce freedom & safety for Jews living in most places in the world. To treat Zionism as an illegitimate & oppressive movement, as #BDS does, is to ignore history & to deny empathy, respect & dignity to Jews."

"We at @Harvard have a responsibility to recognize the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to acknowledge the lived experiences, traumas, hopes, & dreams of all peoples impacted by it."

"The mission of @Harvard is to rigorously interrogate and debate complex problems. We are at our best when we consider & evaluate competing perspectives, focus on facts, acknowledge nuances, & avoid simplistic, monocausal explanations."

"Proposing disengagement from #Israel, in rhetoric that harshly characterizes the Jewish national project, has consequences at @Harvard, too..."

"...At a moment when #antisemitic incidents, often including violence, have reached an all-time high, it is more important than ever for us to model a respectful and inclusive learning environment."

"We urge @thecrimson Editorial Board to reach out to Jewish peers so that they can begin to repair the damage caused by writing such a divisive staff editorial, adding insult to injury by thoughtlessly publishing it the day after #YomHaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day."

"We encourage @thecrimson's editors to take advantage of the many resources & educational opportunities that @Harvard offers for learning more deeply about Jewish identity & #Israel, the diversity of the Jewish experience, & the multifaceted nature of contemporary #antisemitism."

"We also hope that the students who report and write for @Harvard's treasured and beloved @thecrimson, the oldest continuously published campus daily in the U.S., will turn to us for more information & insight into the issues & concerns that we have raised in this statement."

.@Harvard faculty to @thecrimson, "Our doors are always open."