Co-chair of Harvard Antisemitism Task Force Resigns

The co-chair of Harvard's antisemitism task force resigned Sunday reportedly because she believed the university would not commit to acting on the group's recommendations.

Raffaella Sadun, a professor at Harvard Business School, was appointed to the Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism last month by Interim President Alan Garber. But she stepped down after demanding the university commit to acting on the task force's recommendations, even before they were submitted, instead of treating them as advice, The Harvard Crimson student newspaper reported.

"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to help advance the vital work to combat antisemitism and believe that President Garber has assembled an excellent task force," Sadun wrote in a statement, according to the Crimson. "I will continue to support efforts to tackle antisemitism at Harvard in any way I can from my faculty position."

Garber told the Crimson that Sadun "expressed her desire to refocus her efforts on her research, teaching and administrative responsibilities at HBS."

"I am extremely appreciative of Professor Sadun's participation in the task force over the past weeks," Garber said. "Her insights and passion for this work have helped shape the mandate for the task force and how it can best productively advance the important work ahead."

Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, the founding president of Harvard Chabad, told the Crimson that Sadun had been frustrated about the task force for some time.

Sadun's resignation is the latest setback for the task force. After Garber announced Sadun would co-chair the group with Derek J. Penslar, a professor of Jewish history at Harvard, Penslar's appointment drew criticism over allegations he minimized campus antisemitism.

Sadun's resignation also comes a little more than a week after the House Committee on Education and the Workforce subpoenaed Harvard after it missed a Feb. 14 deadline to submit documents for the committee's investigation into on-campus antisemitism.

A firestorm erupted about Harvard's role in fighting antisemitism on campus after former President Claudine Gay answered "it depends on the context" when asked at a House Education Committee hearing if calling for the genocide of Jews violated the university's code of conduct. She resigned in January following allegations of plagiarism.

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