What to know about the "Harvard hates Jews" plane banner over Cambridge
- An anonymous group flew a small plane towing a sign saying "Harvard hates Jews" over Boston and Cambridge on Thursday and Friday
- NBC10 Boston has attempted to verify who has flown the plane, speaking to a person affiliated with the group who goes by the name Publius as well as the head of the company that printed the banner
- Harvard has yet to respond to the banner, which prompted a nearby primary school district to reach out to families saying some students who saw it were upset
A small plane towing a controversial sign flew over Harvard University's campus Thursday and Friday — amid ongoing criticism of the school's response to antisemitism.
Photos show the banner includes a Palestinian flag and the phrase "Harvard hates Jews."
The anonymous group claiming responsibility identifies itself as a group of Jewish students on campus, but didn't provide any verification. In an email to NBC10 Boston, an organizer who went by the pseudonym Publius referred to the group as being on campus, but the owner of the company that created the banner said it "didn't come from inside the walls of Harvard."
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Many students are still questioning what exactly the banner means, with the inflammatory message being described as both frustrating and confusing.
"My first gut reaction was 'What is this?' I didn't even, at first, really understand what it was trying to get at," said one first-year Jewish Harvard student, who asked NBC10 Boston to hide her identity for safety reasons.
The student says there are problems that need to be addressed at the Ivy League school, but that this was not the way to do it.
The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee also condemned the message.
"We reject the racist weaponization of the Palestinian flag to create hate and fear on Harvard's campus, and are disgusted by this antisemitic attempt to target our Jewish community members as they prepare for the first night of Hanukkah," the pro-Palestinian organization said in a statement.
A group claiming to represent Jewish students took credit for the banner.
"We came to this campus to study not to have to fight the battles of the Middle East," Publius wrote in the email.
But NBC10 Boston tracked down the Rhode Island banner company hired to fly it, and owner Mark Simmons, said the banner was flown "for the Jewish students of Harvard," but that "it didn't come from inside the walls of Harvard."
The incident comes as a U.S. House investigation is launched into Harvard and other schools regarding administrations' handling of antisemitism.
"I am unfortunately very disappointed in how Harvard leaders have responded," said student Maya Flores. "I think that the first step for the administration is honestly just supporting all of the students on campus and making sure that everyone here feels safe."
More on Harvard University and antisemitism
NBC10 Boston reached out to Harvard University for the school's reaction to the banner, but it did not respond Thursday.
The superintendent of schools in Brookline, Massachusetts, said in a message to the school community that some students in town saw the banner during recess on Thursday and that it upset some of them.
"Several of our schools had students at recess during that time, some of whom reported this sighting to staff. Some students were upset and were able to connect with counselors and/or support staff," Superintendent Linus Guillory said in a statement. "If any of your children need additional support, please connect the students to one of the many support staff or school administrators."
The plane returned to the skies over Greater Boston again Friday, and organizers said the sign will be flown over other Ivy League college campuses.
How Harvard became involved in the Israel-Hamas War debate
Thursday was the first night of Hanukkah, as well as two months since Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack on Israel, sowing violent chaos among civilians and taking hostages. It led to a massive military response from Israel, which has leveled large swaths of Gaza through aerial bombardments and an ongoing ground invasion.
It's the deadliest violence in Israel for decades.
Harvard and its position on the ongoing war and the environment it fosters for its Israeli and Palestinian students, and, more broadly, its Jewish and Muslim ones, became part of the debate after 35 groups of students and people affiliated with the university released a statement saying they "hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence" given the political situation in Israel, which they referred to as apartheid.
Harvard President Claudine Gay was criticized by some within the university and outside of it for not quickly condemning the statement, which she eventually did, while noting that while students have the right to speak out, no student group speaks for Harvard or its leadership.
But criticism of Harvard, as well as MIT and other universities, has continued. Gay, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill were called before a congressional committee this week, and their testimony, in which they appeared to sidestep questions led to more criticism.
Asked about the presidents' testimonies, a White House spokesman said in a statement, "It's unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country. Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting — and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans."
The House Education and Workforce Committee on Thursday announced it would begin what chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC, referred to in a statement as "a formal investigation into the learning environments at Harvard, UPenn, and MIT and their policies and disciplinary procedures."
