Encouraging open discourse at Harvard on the Israel-Hamas war - opinion

Two weeks ago, I came back for studies at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS), hoping for a calmer semester than the last, allowing me to focus more on my studies and less on defending Israel’s right to exist. The brutal and murderous attack by Hamas on Israel started a war in Gaza but also opened a new front within the elite American universities. One of my American political science professors told me, “I’ve been teaching at Harvard for 35 years, and I’ve never seen it like this before.”

When I was accepted to Harvard, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. But witnessing how Harvard conducted itself in the weeks following the events of October 7, I felt ashamed to be a part of this institution. It seemed like Harvard had lost its moral compass. Instead of being an epicenter for academic thought and dialogue around democratic values and freedom, its leaders acted more like bureaucrats primarily interested in quelling fires and protecting its endowment fund.

However, I didn’t feel entirely alone. Some professors displayed courage and a deep commitment to their jobs as educators in what is supposed to be the world’s finest university. One such individual is my Middle Eastern Politics professor, Dr. Tarek Masoud. Masoud, a seasoned professor at the HKS, is known for his high academic standards and unwavering dedication to open dialogue and the pursuit of truth. After the war broke out, he reached out to both Israeli and Palestinian students on campus, engaging in numerous conversations aimed at providing support and guidance.

On October 13, just a week after the outbreak of the war, Masoud initiated the first academic panel at Harvard focusing on the Gaza conflict. The event occurred at the prestigious JFK Forum, packed to capacity. After an hour of relatively balanced discussion, it was time for questions from the audience.

At that time, Israeli students were still in shock and unprepared with ready questions to challenge the speakers. In contrast, pro-Palestinian students were well-prepared with pointed questions, clearly aiming to cast doubt not only on Israel’s right to self-defense but its right to exist. Sensing that the panel could not end like this, Masoud spotted a call out on one of the Israeli students in the audience, allowing them to ask the final question to ensure our voice was heard.

This week, the headlines are once again abuzz with controversy surrounding Harvard, this time accusing Masoud of initiating a series of events titled “Middle East Dialogues,” which provided a platform for Palestinian speaker Dr. Dalal Saib Ereqat, who had previously justified Hamas’s attack on October 7. News outlets are quick to label Harvard as “antisemitic” without, ironically, considering the context. Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat from Pennsylvania known for his support of Israel, tweeted on the X social media site: “I am truly appalled that the Kennedy School would platform an individual who celebrates and justifies Hamas’s October 7 killing of Israeli citizens – babies, children, the elderly, and the systemic rape, mutilation, and torture of young girls and women.”

Open academic discourse on the war

For those who support Israel’s right to defend itself against the terrorist organization Hamas, it is easy to adopt the narrative that the world is against us and that any critical voice is necessarily anti-Israel or antisemitic. Despite our deep disappointment in what is happening on American campuses today, we must not let our frustration cause us to overlook the complexity and importance of open academic discourse about Israel. Quick-to-comment politicians and influencers, while meaning well, are making it difficult for educators to do their job – exposing students to diverse views with rigorous academic interrogation.

Masoud’s initiative is fundamentally different from the types of events run by student organizations that invite speakers with a clear agenda against Israel. These are a series of meetings with prominent speakers from a wide range of political opinions on the Middle East.

The first speaker will be Jared Kushner, former president Donald Trump’s son-in-law and architect of the Abraham Accords. Additional speakers include Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, and Dr. Einat Wilf, former Knesset member and a prominent voice on Israel and the conflict. Unlike many university events where there is no attempt to present diverse opinions, and the moderators act like talk show hosts, these events force speakers to engage with tough questions from Masoud and the students in the audience, including dozens of Israeli and Jewish students studying at the HKS.

Was inviting Saib Ereqat to the series the right decision? I am not sure. Are her views regarding Hamas unacceptable and abhorrent? Absolutely. Inviting a controversial speaker for a challenging interview does not mean endorsing every statement they make. However, it’s important to note that, unfortunately, many Palestinians and even some students at Harvard hold similar views.

The most striking example was a letter signed by 34 student organizations immediately after Hamas’s attack, in which they blamed Israel unequivocally for the unraveling violence. We want to ignore them, but these outrageous views exist. Alongside condemning and isolating them, Harvard’s role should be to provide a platform for intellectual debate, exposing the flaws in these ideas.

Most Harvard students are not well-versed in every detail of the conflict, and our role is to engage them critically and openly. As one of Masoud’s students, I can attest that he initiated “Middle East Dialogues” to foster genuine dialogue, even if sometimes uncomfortable.

Israeli students on campus see the advantages of having opportunities to be exposed to opposing opinions; the HKS Israeli Caucus has expressed his continuous support for Masoud’s initiatives to provide students with more effective learning opportunities, including this Spring semester series of speakers. In a recent LinkedIn post, he wrote: “The way to have difficult conversations is just to have them. Let’s have real arguments instead of carefully curated conversations in which we declaim to each other in sonorous tones, agree to disagree, and never get to the heart of the matter. Our students can take it. Indeed, they demand it.” As an Israeli student at Harvard, I demand it.

While it is essential to press universities to condemn any antisemitic activity and ensure a safe space for Jewish and Israeli students, it doesn’t mean we are incapable of addressing opposing views. We come from a democratic country and should support open and challenging discourse as much as possible. Fighting antisemitism on campuses doesn’t mean silencing any discussion that doesn’t align with our views; it means taking fierce action against anyone who discriminates against Jewish students. It means educating about antisemitism.

It means working hard to support a vibrant Jewish community. It’s also uplifting, not isolating, professors who genuinely commit to academic discourse and confronting morally bankrupt ideas as we should at a place like Harvard – and defeating them in the marketplace of open ideas.

The writer is a former director of the Reut Institute and an expert on Israel-US relations and world Jewry. He currently studies in the Harvard Kennedy School mid-career MPA program.