Harvard must not remain on the wrong side of history, like when it refused to divest from apartheid South Africa. But divestment is not enough. Harvard is home to the Wexner Foundation, which annually awards ten scholarships through its Israel Fellowship to “outstanding public sector directors and leaders from Israel” to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration at the Kennedy School. Past Wexner fellows include more than 25 Israeli generals and other high-ranking military and police officials. Among them is the Israeli Defense Force’s current chief of general staff, Aviv Kochavi, who is directly responsible for the latest bombardment of Gaza. Kochavi is believed to be one of the 200 to 300 Israeli officials identified by Tel Aviv as likely to be indicted by the International Criminal Court’s probe into alleged Israeli war crimes committed in Gaza in 2014. The Wexner Foundation additionally paid former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak — himself accused of war crimes in connection with Israel’s 2009 Operation Cast Lead that killed over 1400 Palestinians in Gaza — $2.3 million for two studies, one of which he did not complete. Barak was a Belfer fellow at HKS in 2016. The foundation also runs an “intensive leadership development program for leaders in Israel,” which includes four weeks at HKS. The program counts among its alumni senior civilian and military officials, including the head of budget and planning at Israel’s prison service, which currently incarcerates 4,650 Palestinians political prisoners subject to systematic torture. Harvard must sever ties with the Wexner Foundation, in addition to ending all research agreements and study abroad programs with Israeli universities in line with Palestinian civil society’s call for an international academic boycott.
Former Republican Ohio State Treasurer and Zionist Josh Mandel justified Ohio’s 2017 purchase of $61 million in Israel Bonds as a way “to combat the bigotry of the (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement [of Israel].” He added, “we are making this investment to stand with the only country in the Middle East that shares American values.” [May 20, 2021]
