(New York Post) At least a dozen business executives have endorsed Bill Ackman’s call to deny hiring members of student groups at Harvard who signed on to a letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ deadly attack on Saturday that killed more than 1,200 people, including at least 22 Americans.
Jonathan Newman, the CEO of salad chain Sweetgreen, was among a group of business honchos who seconded Ackman in urging that the signatories of the letter circulated by the a coalition of 34 Harvard student groups who “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
“I would like to know so I know never to hire these people,” Newman wrote in response to Ackman’s post on X on Tuesday.
“Same,” David Duel, CEO of healthcare services firm EasyHealth, wrote in response to Newman.
The backlash and possible blacklisting has led to a flurry of backpedaling by four of the initial student organizations attached to the inflammatory statement — while board members of other groups have quit to distance themselves.
Late Tuesday, 17 other Harvard groups joined around 500 faculty and staff and 3,000 others in signing a counter-statement attacking the other groups’ letter as “completely wrong and deeply offensive,” according to the campus paper, the Harvard Crimson.
At least a dozen business executives have endorsed Bill Ackman’s call to deny hiring to members of some three dozen student groups at Harvard who signed on to a letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ deadly attack.REUTERS
A third letter from nearly 160 faculty members also ripped Harvard’s response to the scandal, writing that it “can be seen as nothing less than condoning the mass murder of civilians based only on their nationality.”
Fears that some of the nation’s brightest young minds had doomed their futures led former Harvard President Larry Summers to caution against singling out students who were “naive and foolish” about what they were signing.
“I yield to no one in my revulsion at the statement apparently made on behalf of 30 plus @Harvard student group,” Summers posted Wednesday on X, the rebranded Twitter site. “But please everybody take a deep breath. Many in these groups never saw the statement before it went out. In some cases those approving did not understand exactly what they were approving.”
“This is not a time where it is constructive to vilify individuals and I am sorry that is happening,” he added.
The former Treasury Secretary had taken school administrators to task for failing to explicitly condemn Hamas and denounce the student letter on Monday.
Jonathan Newman, the CEO of salad chain Sweetgreen, was among a group of business honchos who seconded Ackman.LinkedIn
“Share the list, please. We’ll stay away,” Ale Resnik, the CEO of Belong, a rental housing startup, replied on X.Belong
On Tuesday, Ackman, the hedge fund billionaire and founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, posted an item on his X social media account demanding that his alma mater release a list of names of those who belong to the student groups who co-signed the controversial statement.
“I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members,” Ackman, who is married to Israeli-born MIT professor Neri Oxman, wrote on X.
I second this.
— Jake Wurzak (@JWurzak) October 10, 2023
“If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known.”
“Share the list, please. We’ll stay away,” Ale Resnik, the CEO of Belong, a rental housing startup, replied on X.
Martin Varsavsky, a tech investor and entrepreneur, told Insider that he thought Ackman was “right.”
Hu Montague, the founder and vice president of the construction company Diligent, indicated he has no plans to hire the Harvard students who are members of the groups that co-signed the letter.LinkedIn
Michael McQuaid, the head of decentralized finance operations (DeFi) at blockchain firm Bloq, weighed in, writing: “I completely agree, and have been wondering the same the last couple of days if/when the names of these students would come out.”
Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun, pledged to Ackman: “We are in as well.”
Other executives who signaled their approval of Ackman’s post with an emoji of applause, a thumbs up, or a gesture of agreement include Stephen Ready, CEO of marketing firm Inspired; Hu Montague, founder and vice president of construction company Diligent; Art Levy, head of strategy at payments platform Brex; and Jake Wurzak, the CEO of hospitality group Dovehill Capital Management.
The Post has sought comment from the aforementioned executives.
Stephen Ready, CEO of marketing firm Inspired, responded to Ackman: “This is a must.”Stephen Ready/X
Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun, pledged to Ackman: “We are in as well.”LinkedIn
