Billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, along with several other prominent business figures, is calling for Harvard University to disclose the names of students whose organizations endorsed a letter solely blaming Israel for the recent Hamas attacks, according to CNN report.
A coalition of Harvard student groups signed the letter in the wake of attacks that claimed over 1,000 Israeli lives and the lives of at least 14 American citizens.
“We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” the statement from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups said.
The CEOs are advocating for these students to be identified, with the intention of potentially blacklisting them.
However, some of the students have distanced themselves from the letter, emphasizing that they should not be associated with statements supporting terrorists.
Ackman, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), asserted that those who support the letter should have their names made public to ensure transparency. He expressed concern about inadvertently hiring students from Harvard groups that supported the letter.
In response to the backlash, some student groups have withdrawn their endorsements.
Various other business leaders, including CEOs of companies like FabFitFun, EasyHealth, and Dovehill Capital Management, support Ackman’s call for disclosing the students’ names, citing their interest in not hiring such individuals.
However, there are opposing voices, cautioning that revealing the students’ names might put them at risk and not taking into account potential differences of opinion within the student groups.
Larry Summers, a prominent economist and former Harvard president, emphasized the need for restraint and understanding, acknowledging that some students may have been unaware or naive about the statement they endorsed.
Harvard professor Laurence Tribe also reconsidered the call to publicize the students’ names, expressing concern for students who may not have fully comprehended the implications of the statement they signed.
Despite these differing opinions, Harvard University, at the time of this report, had not issued a formal response.