To the editor: It is incredible that members of pro-Palestinian groups at Harvard did not fully understand that they were publishing an anti-Semitic cartoon. (“The anti-Semitic cartoon that agitates Harvard? It is not the first time it has caused a storm,” February 23).
Are we to believe that students, faculty, and staff at America's most prestigious university do not know the history and cannot fully understand the implications of anti-Semitic tropes? If so, the education system in this country is worse than I imagined.
I do not believe his apology and find his actions to be completely disingenuous. They know social media and surely know how to manipulate it: post the invective, then delete it and “apologize.”
This is just the latest example of the decaying social contract in our country where, as history shows, people will unleash their dissatisfaction on the most convenient scapegoat. In this case, as is often the case, the scapegoat is the Jewish people.
Gina Ortiz, Claremont
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To the editor: I read the Times article about a head-shaking anti-Semitic cartoon at Harvard.
I also read an earlier opinion piece by an American plastic surgeon who recently volunteered his skills in Gaza, where he was able to conclude, from firsthand experience, that what was happening was not a war, but rather the annihilation of Gaza and its people.
Many supporters of this war proudly proclaim that a United Nations court did not declare Israel's ongoing murders and near-starvation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians genocide. Well, congratulations, a real feather in our collective kippah.
For this Jew, the destruction of Gaza orchestrated by an Israeli prime minister far more concerned with his own power and avoiding a criminal conviction is by far the most egregious anti-Semitic behavior I have seen in 60 years.
Richard G. Ellison, Santa Barbara
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To the editor: It's the same old song with the same melody (with apologies to the Four Tops).
Many years ago, Harvard and other Ivy League universities had an unwritten and deniable quota system that limited the number of Jewish and other minority students who were accepted to these schools. These systems prevented many students from entering schools through the front doors.
Now, with anti-Semitism on the rise, these students are allowed to enter through the front door, but because they feel so unsafe, they are pushed to the side door. So what has really changed?
Ira Friedman, Beverly Hills
