Pro-Israel activists and Jewish students have erupted in fury over the appointment of Sheryl WuDunn, the wife of New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof, to a leading role on Harvard's oversight board. Critics have accused the Ivy League giant of rewarding a family with a record of inflammatory commentary on Israel at the worst possible moment.
Pro-Israel activists, Jewish students and Harvard alumni have erupted in fury over the appointment of Sheryl WuDunn, the wife of New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof , to a leading role on the university's oversight board .
Critics have accused the Ivy League giant of rewarding a family with a record of inflammatory commentary on Israel at the worst possible moment. Sheryl WuDunn, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Goldman Sachs executive, has been named vice chair of the executive committee of Harvard's Board of Overseers - the institution's second-highest governing body - for the coming academic year. The board is made up of 30 alumni who advise university leadership on academic priorities and institutional direction.
The appointment of WuDunn, 66, who is married to New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof, 67, landed like a grenade on a campus already under intense scrutiny for its handling of antisemitism in the wake of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Harvard has faced funding freezes, federal probes and lawsuits from the Trump administration over allegations of a toxic campus culture that too often equates anti-Zionism with the routine exclusion of pro-Israel students and staff.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Kristof's May 11 column in the Times included graphic allegations that Israeli prison guards had committed sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly branded the piece a modern-day 'blood libel' and Israel's prison service categorically rejected the accusations of sexual abuse contained in the column.
Harvard alum Sheryl WuDunn, 66, is married to New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof, 67 America's oldest college has been roiled by protests in the wake of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel The Times defended it as a 'deeply reported piece of opinion journalism' that had been 'extensively fact-checked.
' WuDunn publicly backed her husband, praising his reporting as 'careful, meticulous, and courageous. ' Kristof, for his part, celebrated his wife's Harvard appointment on X, calling her a 'fantastic choice. ' Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, a major pro-Israel educational group, slammed Harvard for 'elevating someone who defended an article filled with factual inaccuracies.
' 'This is an unfortunate, though not a surprising decision, given Harvard's ongoing failure to adequately address antisemitism affecting Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus,' Rothstein told the Daily Mail. 'Harvard's leadership should recommit itself to academic rigor, intellectual honesty, and a safe environment for all its students, where serious issues are approached with facts rather than sensationalism. ' The fiercest public rebuke came from Samantha Ettus, an author and Harvard graduate, who went straight for the university's president.
'Harvard's antisemitism problem isn't getting better,' she posted on X. 'It's getting promoted into leadership. She is married to blood libelist Nicholas Kristof. Harvard knew. Harvard chose her anyway.
' Alexander 'Shabbos' Kestenbaum, a Harvard alumnus and one of the most prominent public voices against antisemitism at America's oldest university, told Fox News the timing of the announcement was deeply troubling. 'The university knew exactly what type of backlash this would receive and decided after the article had already been published to reveal this information,' he said.
'I don't judge her necessarily by the actions of her husband, but it's really the timing that seems odd - to put it mildly. ' Kestenbaum went further, arguing that Harvard had taken on the Trump administration's funding demands with 'far greater alacrity and seriousness than they ever even pretended to fight against antisemitism' - a charge that will sting an institution desperately trying to repair its battered public image.
Social media critics piled on, questioning what qualifications WuDunn brought to the oversight role beyond her status as Kristof's wife and co-author. The appointment comes in the wake of Kristof's article about Israel's alleged ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees The couple has three children and lives on a sprawling multimillion-dollar farm in Yamhill, Oregon, which produces wine and cider Some demanded lawmakers 'defund Harvard' over what they described as the university's continuing tolerance of antisemitism.
Harvard leadership has privately acknowledged growing bipartisan anger toward elite universities and the mounting damage to the institution's reputation. WuDunn is a formidable figure in her own right. A former New York Times journalist and senior executive, she later moved to Goldman Sachs before co-founding the business consultancy FullSky Partners. She and Kristof jointly won the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in China.
The backlash against Harvard has been intense, with many calling for the university to recommit itself to academic rigor and intellectual honesty. The appointment of Sheryl WuDunn has sparked a heated debate about the university's handling of antisemitism and its commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all students. The university's leadership has faced criticism for its handling of the situation, with some accusing it of prioritizing the interests of its alumni over the well-being of its students.
The appointment has also raised questions about the qualifications of Sheryl WuDunn for the oversight role and whether she is the right person to advise the university's leadership on academic priorities and institutional direction. The situation has sparked a heated debate about the role of elite universities in society and the importance of creating a safe and inclusive environment for all students.
The university's leadership has a lot to answer for in the coming days and weeks as the backlash against the appointment continues to grow. The university's reputation is at stake, and it will be interesting to see how it responds to the criticism and demands for change. The appointment of Sheryl WuDunn has sparked a heated debate about the university's handling of antisemitism and its commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all students.
The university's leadership has faced criticism for its handling of the situation, with some accusing it of prioritizing the interests of its alumni over the well-being of its students. The appointment has also raised questions about the qualifications of Sheryl WuDunn for the oversight role and whether she is the right person to advise the university's leadership on academic priorities and institutional direction.
The situation has sparked a heated debate about the role of elite universities in society and the importance of creating a safe and inclusive environment for all students. The university's leadership has a lot to answer for in the coming days and weeks as the backlash against the appointment continues to grow. The university's reputation is at stake, and it will be interesting to see how it responds to the criticism and demands for change
Harvard University Sheryl Wudunn Nicholas Kristof Antisemitism Oversight Board
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The AI fight brewing inside The New York TimesThe company is using AI performance tracking software, the union says
Read more »
New York Times accused of deploying AI surveillance on tech staff without notifying their unionUnionized tech workers accuse the New York Times of deploying AI surveillance tools that allegedly violate their contract and misrepresent their work.
Read more »
New York Times Employees Take Legal Action Against AI SurveillanceUnionized employees of the New York Times have taken legal action against the publication, claiming it uses artificial intelligence to surveil and monitor them. They filed two grievances and an unfair labor practice charge against the Gray Lady, claiming the outlet is deploying AI to spy on employees in a violation of their collective bargaining agreement.
Read more »
Summer Recipes and Grilling Ideas from The New York Times CookingA collection of summer recipes from The New York Times Cooking, including grilled chicken with suya spice, watermelon feta salad, and a refreshing potato salad. The text also introduces a South African-inspired grilled steak with a vibrant sauce rof, along with various other dishes like succotash, mangonada, and strawberry pie, all aimed at making the most of the fleeting summer season with fresh produce and outdoor cooking.
Read more »