Harvard Reaches Agreement with Anti-Israel Protesters to End Campus Encampment
The group of anti-Israel students at Harvard University, who had been maintaining an encampment on campus, have reached an agreement with school officials to end their protest.
On Tuesday, the group announced that Harvard has agreed to reinstate over 20 students who were suspended for participating in the encampment. The organization behind the protests, Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), also stated that the disciplinary cases of 60 students involved in the encampment would be expedited, with leniency consistent with past precedents for similar actions.
Harvard’s Interim President, Alan Garber, urged the university’s schools to “promptly initiate applicable reinstatement proceedings for all individuals who have been placed on involuntary leaves of absence.” He also requested that the “disciplinary boards within each School to evaluate expeditiously, according to their existing practices and precedents, the cases of those who participated in the encampment.”
HOOP announced plans to meet with school administrators to discuss issues related to disclosure, divestment, and reinvestment. Additionally, Harvard will engage in conversations about establishing a “Center for Palestine Studies at Harvard,” according to a report by CNN.
Previously, the university had stated that it would not comply with the protesters’ demands to divest from Israel or organizations associated with the Jewish state. The university also stated it would begin suspending students involved in these radical protests. However, the agreement to end the 20-day encampment suggests that the university may have made some concessions to the protesters.
“I acknowledge the profound grief that many in our community feel over the tragic effects of the ongoing war,” Garber said. “There will continue to be deep disagreements and strongly felt emotions as we experience pain and distress over events in the wider world.”
