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Harvard Can Keep Its Jewish Community Safe — When It Wants To
Harvard University student smiling while chanting “Palestine will be Arab” during a demonstration at Harry Elkins Widener Library. Photo: Israel War Room/Twitter
I felt physically safe. Thirty minutes into the September 22, 2024, Summit on Antisemitism, Zionism, and the Crisis in Higher Education at Harvard’s Sanders Theater, I was pretty confident there would be no violence against us.
Surprisingly, no one tried to disrupt the event — even though there were almost 1,000 proud Jews there (students, faculty, parents, alums, and other Zionists) who believed in the right of Israel, an existing country, to continue existing.
Dozens of police officers guarded us both inside and outside the building. There was an established perimeter, metal detectors, bag searches, bomb-sniffing dogs, and printed tickets that we had to display, even when returning from the bathroom. With alums and presumably donors in the room, as well as a group of renowned speakers, including Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt (Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism), Harvard wasn’t taking any chances. Nor were the event planners — Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance (HJAA) with Harvard Hillel and Chabad.
It felt good to feel safe, and I was grateful to Harvard — until it fully sunk in that Jews now need a full security force to come back to our alma mater for an event about Jews and Israel.
And Harvard is the reason why this vast amount of security is needed.
Prior to the September 22 event, HJAA had already extensively documented the Jew and Israel hate on Harvard’s campus in its May 2024 report, which I co-authored. Its title is “The Soil Beneath the Encampments: How Israel and Jews Became the Focus of Hate at Harvard.”
Our research demonstrated that Harvard’s curriculum and education programs systemically planted and spread the seeds of this Jew-hatred well before October 7, 2023. Propelling this education were hundreds of millions in funding from Middle Eastern authoritarian countries and many hundreds of Harvard faculty members (and visiting instructors, fellows, staff, and graduate students), unified by little else than their virulent, obsessive hatred of the “Zionist, colonial state.”
Dozens of students that HJAA interviewed after October 7th told us that they were afraid for their physical safety on campus because of their Jewish identity or their sympathy for Israel. A student who lived on Harvard Yard next to the protests and encampments had explained, “There were days I was afraid to leave my room because there were people outside chanting, ‘End the occupation’ and ‘globalize the intifada.’”
“It’s scary to walk through the protest,” another student told us. “I usually walk through the back doors [or the] side entrances at [the] science center.”
An Israeli student said that she felt “safer in Israel than here. I just think everyone knows my identity, and the only thing that protects me from people hurting Israelis is that they have too much to lose because they are Harvard students.”
We heard from dozens of Jewish and pro-Israel students who said that even before the October 7 massacre, bullying, harassment, and exclusion by classmates, faculty, teaching fellows, and proctors was the norm for them.
When students reported these offenses, some Harvard administrators suggested mental health support — presumably because not all Jews were afraid, and, therefore, those who were afraid needed counseling, instead of help combating the actual problem. We can’t imagine Harvard applying that standard to other minority groups.
Perhaps my concern that our Sept. 22 event would be violently disrupted was excessive. No one actually threatened violence. The online posts opposing our event the night before only said “as Palestinians continue to be murdered by the Zionist state, Harvard props up the genocide. Harvard Chabad and Hillel have invited speakers who have directly participated in mass murder onto our campus,” and “Harvard continues its unwavering support of the Zionist entity. We will not stand for genocidaires on our campus.”
Then again, as the great Einat Wilf, a speaker at the Summit, previously explained, societies obsessively embracing anti-Zionism have often devolved into violence against their Jewish communities, with the most respected voices and institutions (universities included) lending such attacks the imprimatur of rationality and respectability.
I wonder how many Summit audience members owe their lives to an ancestor who was very afraid. My husband does. His maternal grandmother not only believed what the Jew-haters were saying in Europe in the 1930s, but she was afraid enough to act. She fled her home in Poland in 1939, never to see her 150 relatives again.
Harvard and other campuses by no means resemble 1938 Germany. But it is hard to fault us for early pattern recognition.
Jessica Levin, a Harvard graduate, is the Vice President for Education of the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance (HJAA) and the co-author with Zoe Bernstein of HJAA’s May 2024 report, “The Soil Beneath the Encampments: How Israel and Jews Became the Focus of Hate at Harvard.”
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Progressive Democrats Condemn US Airstrikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2024. Photo: Craig Hudson/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Progressive members of the US Congress are denouncing President Donald Trump’s decision to order military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend, calling the move reckless, illegal, and a dangerous provocation that could drag the United States into a broader conflict in the Middle East.
On Saturday night, Trump authorized Operation Midnight Hammer, a large-scale US strike on three key Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. The Pentagon later revealed that seven B‑2 Spirit stealth bombers flew from Whiteman Air Force base, escorted by fighter jets and refueling tankers, and supported by a submarine-launched salvo of Tomahawk missiles targeting Isfahan. The B‑2s pummeled Fordo and Natanz with 14 massive bunker-buster bombs.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), one of the most outspoken progressive voices in Congress, denounced the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“The president’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,” Ocasi0-Cortez said in a statement.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another longtime critic of American interventionism, criticized the airstrikes while speaking to an audience of his supporters.
“Not only is this news … alarming, but it is so grossly unconstitutional. … The only entity that can take this country to war is the US Congress,” Sanders said.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the leader of House Democrats, lambasted Trump for allegedly circumventing Congress in authorizing the strikes: “President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) condemned the strikes and suggested they could escalate violence within the region.
“The strikes on Iran, ordered by President Trump and executed without congressional authorization, mark a dangerous and reckless escalation of an already volatile conflict in the Middle East,” Omar wrote on X/Twitter.
“Military strikes will not bring peace. They will only provoke more violence, destabilize the region, and endanger US troops and civilians. We’ve seen what happens when diplomacy is sidelined in favor of bombs. It only brings more death and destruction,” she continued.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the sole Palestinian-American woman in Congress, called the strikes a “blatant violation of our Constitution.”
“Instead of listening to the American people, Trump is listening to War Criminal Netanyahu, who lied about Iraq and is lying once again about Iran. Congress must act immediately to exert its war powers and stop this unconstitutional act of war,” Tlaib said in a statement, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying American troops if a formal declaration of war has not already been issued. The resolution also mandates that the president withdraw any forces deployed in a conflict within 60 days if Congress has not formally declared war.
Supporters of the US strike have argued that Trump is acting within his legal authority, noting that the US government has long identified Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism responsible for the deaths of many Americans. Trump and many lawmakers have said for years that such a regime can’t be allowed to build nuclear weapons, even if it means using military force.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
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Iran Attacks US Base in Qatar With Missiles, Doha Says No Casualties
Traces are seen in the sky after Iran’s armed forces say they targeted The Al-Udeid base in a missile attack, as seen from Doha, Qatar, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Iran launched multiple missiles against the Al Udeid US airbase in Qatar on Monday, retaliating for American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.
In a post on X, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced the country had successfully intercepted Iranian missiles, noting there were no casualties, but condemned the strikes as “brazen aggression.”
“The State of Qatar strongly condemns the attack that targeted Al-Udeid Air Base by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. We consider this a flagrant violation of sovereignty,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said in a statement.
“We reassured that Qatar’s air defenses successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles,” he continued.
Shortly after the attack, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also released a statement confirming it had carried out the strike on Qatar.
“The base that was targeted in the attack by the powerful Iranian forces was far from urban facilities and residential areas in Qatar,” the statement reads. “This action did not pose any threat to our friendly and brotherly country, Qatar, and its noble people.”
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Daycare Run by Israel’s Oldest and Largest Food Charity Damaged in Iranian Missile Attack
Illustrative: Israeli soldiers work at an impact site following Iran’s missile strike on Israel, in Be’er Sheva, Israel, June 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
A daycare center that is part of the oldest operating charity in Israel and the country’s largest food security non-governmental organization was among the sites damaged by the series of cluster bombs Iran launched at the Jewish state on Friday morning.
Colel Chabad’s daycare center in Be’er Sheva with hit with shrapnel that resulted in glass being scattered across the facility’s play areas and torn classroom walls, among other damage seen in photos shared on the daycare’s website. Colel Chabad said the building “suffered serious damage.” The daycare center was empty at the time and has been closed since the Iranian missile attacks began on June 13.
No one was injured in the missile strike. Surveillance camera footage shared by Colel Chabad show the exact moment the Iranian missile hit the daycare center.
Chabad is a Hasidic movement within Orthodox Judaism that operates globally and is headquartered in New York City.
Colel Chabad was established in 1788 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of Chabad. The daycare is part of the Ohr Chaya and Larisa Blavatnik chain of daycares and is one of 18 early childhood centers for underprivileged families across Israel that is operated by Colel Chabad.
“In our 230-year history, we have faced many challenges. Through our faith in G‑d, we find the strength to continue. This daycare will be repaired and reopened as soon as it is safe to do so,” said Colel Chabad Director, Rabbi Sholom Duchman, according to Chabad.org. “This building will once again be filled with laughter, learning, and the strength it provides to families in Be’er Sheva. It is our sacred duty — and we will not falter.”
Leaders at Colel Chabad are working to secure a different site for the daycare in anticipation for when security conditions allow it to reopen, Chabad.org reported.
“To see it torn apart by an act of war is devastating,” said Leah Blau, who is the director of the damaged daycare center. “We thank G‑d that no one was injured, but our work must continue — rebuilding not just walls, but a sense of security for our children.”
Colel Chabad’s soup kitchens have been closed since the Israel-Iran war began on June 13 due to safety concerns, but it has expanded its meal delivery services, particularly for elderly residents. The organization has also distributed emergency relief cards, which act like debit cards, worth 4,000 shekels each ($1,100) to those impacted by the war to help them buy basic necessities such as clothing and food. Colel Chabad said some 3,000 families have been displaced in areas including Ramat Gan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, and Rishon Letzion.
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