MBA Students Rally in Solidarity with Columbia Demonstrators Following Arrests | News

Last Updated on April 21, 2024 by Robert C. Hoopes

Over 200 Harvard affiliates gathered in Harvard Yard for a rally denouncing the university’s ties to the war in Gaza and showing solidarity with students arrested at Columbia University in pro-Palestine demonstrations. The protest was part of a nationwide wave of solidarity protests after over 100 people were arrested at Columbia.

Organized by a coalition of pro-Palestine groups, including the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Law Students for a Free Palestine, speakers at the rally called for Harvard to disclose and divest from companies and investments in the West Bank. One speaker, Elom Tettey-Tamaklo, a Harvard Divinity School student who was relieved of duties for participating in a pro-Palestine rally, also addressed the crowd.

Despite Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton reiterating the University’s opposition to boycotting Israel, protesters marched through Harvard Yard, outside interim University President Alan M. Garber’s office, and by the John Harvard statue, demanding divestment from the war in Gaza. The rally ended at Widener Library with chants for Palestinian liberation and divestment, in defiance of protest rules outlined by the University.

Organizer Shraddha Joshi stated that the group will continue to advocate for divestment and Palestinian liberation, despite pushback from administrators. The rally highlighted the growing support for the Palestinian cause on college campuses and the ongoing pressure for universities to take a stand on issues related to the Middle East conflict.