The head of Harvard University’s antisemitism task force dropped out of a Big Apple panel on antisemitism — because he did not want to discuss the “goings-on” at the much-maligned Ivy League institution, according to a report.
Derek Penslar, co-chair of Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism, was scheduled to take part Sunday in a panel titled, “What is Antisemitism? Definitions and Debates,” the Washington Free beacon reported.
But the scholar of Jewish history — who has called Israel “an apartheid state” — blamed the university’s ongoing scandals for dropping out, the report said.
“I am mindful of my role as co-chair of the Harvard Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism,” Penslar reportedly said in a statement read to the panel by moderator Gavriel Rosenfeld.
“And since at the symposium I would invariably be asked to speak about the goings-on at Harvard, and since the task force is only now just being put together, and its plan of action is being formed, it would not be appropriate for me to make public comments at this time,” he added.
Penslar was appointed to the task force by interim president Alan Garber, who took over from Claudine Gay, who was ousted in a scandal that started with outrage at her congressional testimony about antisemitic threats to students.
The decision to pick so outspoken a critic of Israel only added to the scandal.
In his recent book, “Zionism: An Emotional State,” Penslar wrote: “Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians from their land and oppression of those who remain have made it one of the most disliked countries on the planet.”
He also claimed in the book that “Jewish culture was steeped in fantasies (and occasionally, acts) of vengeance against Christians.”
Last summer, Penslar co-signed a letter condemning the Israeli government for what he called its aim to “ethnically cleanse all territories under Israeli rule of their Palestinian population.”
“Meanwhile, American Jewish billionaire funders help support the Israeli far right,” the letter read.
Billionaire hedge fund manager and Harvard alum Bill Ackman said Penslar’s appointment shows the school “continues on the path of darkness.”
Former Harvard president Larry Summers also cited the appointment as a reason he has “lost confidence in the determination and ability of the Harvard Corporation and Harvard leadership to maintain Harvard as a place where Jews and Israelis can flourish.”
Summers claimed Penslar “publicly minimized Harvard’s antisemitism problem, rejected the definition used by the US government in recent years of antisemitism as too broad, invoked the need for the concept of settler colonialism in analyzing Israel, referred to Israel as an apartheid state and more.”
Gay and other Ivy League presidents were criticized for failing to forcefully condemn hate speech directed at Jewish students on their campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.
Harvard became a focal point of attention after dozens of student groups circulated a letter blaming Israel for the assault.
Gay resigned as president earlier this month after it was learned she plagiarized several academic papers.
One panel participant, Fairfield University’s Glenn Dynner, accused Penslar’s critics of pushing “a certain agenda,” the Free Beacon reported.
“I do feel I should acknowledge … how problematic it is and the chilling effect that occurs when somebody’s arguments and words are suddenly used against them and often twisted and used for a certain agenda,” Dynner said after praising the controversial co-chair.
“I think all of us feel a little bit now worried that our words too are going to be twisted,” he continued. “So there is a kind of chilling effect that I would like to acknowledge.”
Penslar was slated to discuss “difficult challenges such as identifying the line between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, determining the differences between free speech and hate speech, and deciding the proper role universities should play in navigating these highly charged issues,” according to the Free Beacon
Neither the Center for Jewish History nor Penslar responded to requests for comment by the outlet.