For the first time since her resignation, former Harvard President Claudine Gay decided to publish some of the events that led to the decision in an op-ed she wrote for The New York Times that was published in the early hours of the morning.
Watch: US university leaders refuse to define call for genocide of the Jewish people as a violation of the code of ethics // Israel Hayom News
"On Tuesday, I made the difficult but necessary decision to resign as president of Harvard," Gay began. "For weeks, I and the institution to which I have devoted my professional life have been under attack. My character and intelligence were attacked, my commitment to fighting anti-Semitism was called into question. My inbox was flooded with invective, including death threats. I've been called 'black' so many times that I can't count."
"Demagogic harassment"
"I hope that my resignation will eliminate demagogues' ability to harass the presidency in their campaign against all the ideals on which Harvard was founded – excellence, openness, independence and truth."
An "emergency" demonstration at Harvard after the Hamas massacre, photo: Reuters
"As I leave, it is appropriate to say a few words of warning. The campaign led against me was not just against one university or leader. It was the only skirmish in a wider war to dismantle public trust in the pillars of American culture. Such campaigns begin with attacks on educational institutions that help convey the messages of propaganda. But it doesn't end there. Institutions as credible as they may be will continue to fall victim to attempts to undermine their legitimacy and the credibility of their leaders."
"I made mistakes"
Gay also addressed her failure to unequivocally condemn the October 7 Hamas attack. "Yes, I made mistakes. In my first reaction to the atrocities that occurred on the seventh of October, I should have made clear what every good conscience knows: Hamas is a terrorist organization that seeks to destroy the Jewish state. And at a congressional hearing last month, I fell into a preconceived trap. I failed to respond that calls for genocide against Jews are abhorrent and my daughter is accepted, and that I will use all the tools at my disposal to protect Jewish students from this kind of hatred."
Harvard University President Claudine Gay Photo: Reuters
Later in the article, the former president addressed the accusations leveled against her regarding alleged copying of her past academic works. "Recently, the attacks against me have been directed at my work in academia. When I learned of errors I had made, I immediately sought to correct it in front of the journals in which my work was published. I have never misrepresented my research findings and have never taken credit for other people's research."
"Campuses are not the place for political struggles"
Gay addressed the racism directed at her during the campaign calling for her resignation. "I never thought I would have to defend decades-old research, but the past few weeks have shown me that the truth can be destroyed. Those who relentlessly campaigned for my ouster used lies and insults rather than reasoned arguments. They recycled racist stereotypes about the character of people of a certain color and used false narratives of incompetence."
At the end of her article, Gay noted that "campuses in the United States must remain places where students can learn, share knowledge and grow together, not spaces where political struggles take place. Universities must remain independent where courage and reason unite to advance the truth, no matter what forces work against them."
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