A #billboard #truck #drove through the streets surrounding Harvard's campus, digitally displaying th

7 months ago
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A #billboard #truck #drove through the streets surrounding Harvard's campus, digitally displaying the names and #faces of #students affiliated with student groups that signed onto a controversial statement on Hamas' attack on Israel. As a result of continued national backlash and doxxing attacks, at least nine of the original 34 co-signing Harvard student groups withdrew their signatures from the statement, originally penned by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee. In a later statement, the #PSC wrote that it "staunchly opposes" #violence against all civilians.

At least four online sites had listed the #personalinformation of #students linked to clubs that had signed onto the statement, including full names, class years, past employment, #socialmedia #profiles, #photos, and #hometowns. As of Wednesday morning, at least two of those sites had been taken down for violating Google’s terms of service. On Wednesday, in the face of student safety concerns, some of the statement’s harshest critics denounced acts of violence or intimidation against the members of the statement’s signatories. Harvard Executive Vice President Meredith L. Weenick ’90 also moved to criticize online intimidation and harassment in a Wednesday evening email to University affiliates following this article’s initial publication.

The responses followed the appearance of the billboard truck, which labeled the displayed Harvard students as “antisemites.” The display also referenced a website that listed multiple full names of students associated with organizations that had signed onto the PSC’s statement. The truck returned to the streets surrounding campus on Thursday morning, drawing jeers from some passers-by. The stunt was sponsored by Accuracy in Media, a conservative media advocacy group.

In an interview with The Crimson Thursday, Adam Guillette, the president of AIM, declined to say when the truck would leave, but he said it would “be here for some time.” Guillette also claimed the truck was no longer displaying the names and faces of students whose groups had withdrawn their signatures from the statement.

@Harvard Hillel, the #University’s #Jewish center, released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that it “strongly condemns any attempts to threaten and intimidate” members of co-signatory organizations. “We will continue to reject the PSC’s statement in the strongest terms — and demand accountability for those who signed it,” the statement reads. “Such intimidation is counterproductive to the education that needs to take place on our campus at this difficult time,” it continues.

In a statement to The @Crimson, the #PSC called on #University #leadership to “immediately and unequivocally condemn the #harassment and intimidation of its students.” The truck actively threatens #students' safety on #campus at a time when credible death threats have already forced us to postpone a solidarity vigil acknowledging all civilian victims. “The doxxing truck is the ugliest culmination of a campaign to silence pro-Palestinian activism that the PSC has experienced for years.”

#HarvardUniversity #students have been expressing their disdain for the joint statement made by 30+ student groups, including the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Group, in a post on X. Former University President Lawrence H. Summers reaffirmed his disdain for the statement but called for the #doxxing to stop. He urged everyone to take a deep breath and call for clarity that words or deeds that threaten the safety of others in the community will not be tolerated.

@Harvard #Economics #professor Jason Furman '92 shared a similar statement on X, writing that he had been contacted by a #student who had been #doxxed despite no longer attending Harvard or affiliating with the co-signing group. Furman expressed reassurance by the widespread condemnation of the statement by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Group but was appalled by people threatening individual students, as many of them had nothing to do with the letter.

As #students face #retaliation for the #Israel statement, a "#Doxxing Truck" displays students' faces on @Harvard's campus. #Harvard University junior Shira Hoffer created a forum for dialogue called the "Hotline for Israel Palestine," a texting hotline made up of 23 volunteers from five different countries and diverse backgrounds, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans. Hoffer said it is heartwarming to see people from so many different backgrounds coming together to support the dual mission of the hotline, which is to teach people how to educate themselves and to promote dialogue across differences.

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