Israeli shipping magnate Ethan Ofer and his wife / Reuters
There have been reports that an Israeli billionaire couple is resigning from the board of directors of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Policy and Public Administration. This is because the university responded lukewarmly to Harvard student groups that supported the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
The New York Post, citing the Israeli media The Marker, said, “Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife Batia will quit the board of directors of Harvard University’s Kennedy School in protest over the Hamas statement.”13 It was reported on Sunday (local time).
Ethan Ofer is a member of the wealthy Jewish shipping family, the Ofer family, and runs the Eastern Pacific shipping company headquartered in Singapore. The company operates 210 cargo ships. He also owns shares of XT Shipping and Ace Tankers, a specialty chemical transport company, and also owns a 51% stake in Israel Corp. Forbes estimates Ethan Ofer’s net worth at $14 billion (about KRW 19 trillion). In 2013, Ethan Offer established a fellowship scholarship named after his father for Israeli and Palestinian students.
However, the Ofers are said to have been particularly disappointed with the university’s actions, as Harvard student groups supported Hamas’s surprise attack and the university issued a separate statement. They did not explicitly criticize the student group or Hamas, and the statement was made late.
On the 7th, when Hamas attacked Israel, 35 student groups at Harvard University issued a statement saying, “Israel is fully responsible for all violence (including Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel).” They said, “Today’s (invasion) incident did not occur in a vacuum. “Over the past 20 years, millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been forced to live in ‘open-air prisons,’” he said. “In the future, Palestinians will have to bear the full extent of Israel’s violence.”
University leadership later drew a line, saying the student groups’ statement did not represent the university’s entire position, and announced, “We are heartbroken by the death and destruction sparked by Hamas’s attacks on Israeli citizens this weekend.” This statement from the university leadership was criticized for failing to hold Hamas accountable for killing civilians. Ultimately, Harvard University President Claudine Gay said in a follow-up statement on the 10th, “There is no doubt that we condemn Hamas’ atrocities. “It is an abhorrent act, regardless of one’s views on the long-standing conflict in the region.”
Bhatia is said to have expressed his intention to resign in response to the university’s position, saying, “The university president showed a shocking and lukewarm response by not condemning the statement by the student group that blamed Israel for the massacre.”
Harvard University President Claudine Gay. / Reuters News 1
Ethan Ofer is not the only Israeli who expressed discomfort with Harvard students’ statement criticizing Israel. Prior to this, Jewish hedge fund magnate Bill Ackman, chairman of Pershing Square Capital, said that he would not hire students who signed this statement and that he was “seeking a list of student associations.”
As the Jewish capital power showed a move to criticize the Harvard students’ statement, four of the 34 Harvard student organizations that had issued a statement holding Israel responsible for the incident withdrew their stance.
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2023-10-13 05:26:15
