At least a dozen more CEOs endorse Bill Ackman’s vow not to hire Harvard students who blamed Israel for Hamas terror attack – as undergrads double down on their statement and whine about being ‘flooded with racist hate speech’

Over a dozen business executives are joining the call to blacklist the Harvard students who put out a statement that blamed Israel for the Hamas attack, while the group whined about being persecuted in the aftermath.

CEOs from EasyHealth, Belong, FabFitFun, Inspired, DoveHill and many more joined billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman in the charge of outing the members of 31 student organizations who issued the statement on Sunday.

Ackman said, ‘One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists, who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other inconceivably despicable acts.’

On Wednesday, the student group Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee put out a statement affirming their message despite the outrage that they say forced them to cancel a vigil they planned. 

‘In the past 72 hours, our statement has made international headlines. PSC has been flooded with racist hate speech and death threats. Hundreds of students have been persecuted both on campus and online, even people unaffiliated with PSC,’ the group wrote.

Members of the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee protest for the liberation of Palestine. Since putting out the statement, the group has doubled down on the message and claimed they have received death threats

The groups statement prompted calls to blacklist them and they said the response forced them to cancel a vigil since they are concerned for their safety.  

‘The targeting of Palestinian, Black, brown, Muslim and international students specifically should be extremely concerning to all parties. These threats reached such a height that we were forced to postpone our vigil, intended to mourn all innocent lives lost,’ they wrote.

‘We are appalled at the administration’s failure to protect its students’ safety. To state what should be clear: PSC staunchly opposes all violence against all innocent life and laments all human suffering.’

‘The ongoing discourse centered on Harvard diverts focus from the relentless carnage in Gaza, a dire situation which out joint statement urgently warned about.’

Rather than apologize, the group doubled down on their message and called on the Harvard community to reject the attacks on students in the group.

‘They Palestinian death toll is only starting to mount,’ they wrote. ‘Loss of Palestinian lives, which has tragically become an annual occurrence, neither breaks the news nor prompts White House speeches.’

They said Harvard is, ‘a university that invests in Israeli apartheid,’ and ‘we are proud to stand steadfast against Israeli apartheid.’

Salad chain Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman echoed Ackman’s message and said, ‘I would like to know so I know never to hire these people.’

David Duel, CEO of healthcare services organization EasyHealth replied to Neman’s response with, ‘Same.’

Ale Resnik, the CEO of rental housing startup Belong replied to Ackman’s post, ‘Share the list, please. We’ll stay away.’

Tech investor Martin Varsavsky echoed, ‘Share the list please.’

Inspired CEO Stephen Ready wrote, ‘This is a must.’ Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun, said, ‘We are in as well.’

In response to Ackman’s post, Michael McQuaid, the head of DeFi operations at blockchain company Bloq said: ‘I completely agree, and have been wondering the same the last couple of days if/when the names of these students would come out.’

CEO of DoveHill Jake Wurzak wrote, ‘I second this.’

Other executives replied to Ackman with supportive emojis like the founder and vice president of the construction company Diligent, Hu Montague, the chief strategy officer of the payments platform Brex, Art Levy and CEO of the Classic Learning Test, Jeremy Wayne Tate.

Other business executives like Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman (left) and Inspired CEO Stephen Ready (right) have joined Ackman in wanting to know the names of the students so they will not hire them

Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun (left), and Tech Investor Martin Varsavsky (right) joined the call to blacklist the students

Since Tuesday, at least five of the original groups have withdrawn their signatures, and the full list of groups was taken off the statement, which they said was for their safety.

Harvard law student Danielle Mikaelian said she had stepped down from her role as a board member of one of the student groups that co-signed the controversial statement, calling it ‘egregious’.

The statement read: ‘We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.

‘Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum. For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison.’

The group said massacres in Gaza have already started and Palestinians have no shelter for refuge and will be forced to bare the brunt of Israel’s violence.

‘The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years.

‘From systematized land seizures to routine airstrikes, arbitrary detentions to military checkpoints, and enforced family separations to targeted killings, Palestinians have been forced to live in a state of death, both slow and sudden.’

‘Today, the Palestinian ordeal enters into uncharted territory. The coming days will require a firm stand against colonial retaliation. We call on the Harvard community to take action to stop the ongoing annihilation of Palestinians,’ the statement said.

Members of Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee pose for a group picture. The student organization doubled down on their statement blaming Israel for the Hamas terror attack

Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee set up posters with the message ‘Free Palestine.’ The student group claimed to have received racist death threats in the wake of their statement

According to the Harvard Crimson, thousands of students, alumni and faculty have issued a counterstatement to the group.

Harvard President Emeritus Lawrence Summers called the PSC statement  ‘sickening’ and was outraged by the university’s slow response.

On Tuesday, Harvard President Claudine Gay finally issued a statement condemning the attacks and the student group statement.

The Israeli military has said more than 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have died since the surprise attack on Saturday while Gaza’s health ministry says 1,100 have been killed and more than 5,300 injured.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed every Hamas member is a ‘dead man,’ and said claims about the beheadings had not been independently confirmed but rescue workers and witnesses had described horrific scenes.