U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) is holding his silence following an Arizona Sun Times press inquiry on Sunday about the refusal of Harvard University President Claudine Gay to state whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people is considered a violation of the university’s code of conduct.
Gay refused to state whether calls to commit violence and genocide against the Jewish people violated the university’s code of conduct during a five-minute exchange with Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21). Gay repeatedly told Stefanik she finds such remarks and calls to action “personally abhorrent,” but said such language would receive First Amendment protections at Harvard.
The university later released a statement from Gay which accused critics of having “confused a right to free expression that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students,” but insisted that “calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community” will “have no place at Harvard,” and promised punishments for those making such threats. Few critics were mollified, and Gay apologized again the next day, directly to students, in a statement to The Harvard Crimson.
Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Gay “disgraced” Harvard “by refusing to condemn violent antisemitism [and] calls for genocide against Jewish students on her campus,” and argued her remarks “should be met with universal condemnation.”
However, Lake noted that Gallego, a 2004 graduate of Harvard, “remains silent” and “refuses to condemn her antisemitism.”
Harvard President Claudine Gray disgraced herself, & her university, by refusing to condemn violent antisemitism & calls for genocide against Jewish students on her campus.
It should be met with universal condemnation.
But @RubenGallego, class of 04, remains silent. He refuses… https://t.co/Jr6ypjpFVB
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) December 8, 2023
The Sun Times contacted Gallego’s campaign to ask whether the congressman made remarks about Gay’s testimony, or about the reported calls for genocide and violence against Jews happening at Harvard, but did not receive a response. Gallego’s campaign likewise did not respond when asked if he is concerned about similar displays at Arizona State University, where a recent pro-Palestine protest required Jewish students and members of students to receive a police escort.
Gallego has not commented about the state of his alma mater despite writing extensively on X about his time there, and how he was accepted by the elite school, in 2020. Months later, Gallego appeared on a podcast to discuss how he came to attend Harvard.
The congressman also reportedly referenced his time at Harvard in his memoir, describing having “flamed out” of the prestigious institution during his second year, before later returning after a stint in the Marine Corps Reserve to graduate in 2004.
Lake called on Gallego to condemn the anti-Israel Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in October, when she noted that Gallego “accepted money from, [and] championed, CAIR” over his political career.
Prior, Gallego quietly deleted a 2021 press release that urged Israel to pursue a ceasefire with Hamas, citing the “human rights implications” of that conflict, and raising concerns about Israeli evictions of Palestinians.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ruben Gallego” by Ruben Gallego; “Claudine Gay” is by Harvard University; and background image “Harvard Campus” is also by Harvard University.
