Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday reversed its decision to deny a fellowship to the former head of Human Rights Watch (HRW), and obsessive anti-Israel critic, Kenneth Roth.
As a result of the initial decision six months ago, Roth, who has been given the moniker, “The Godfather of Human Rights,” waged a campaign accusing the school of surrendering to pressure from pro-Israel donors, or what he termed “donor-driven censorship.”
Critics of Roth and his supporters said that the campaign played into the hands of age-old canards about Jewish money and Jews wielding too much influence and power. Roth’s obsessive anti-Israel views have led to charges of outright antisemitism, with former head of the Anti-Defamation League, Abe Foxman, accusing the rights chief of peddling “classic anti-Semitic stereotype about Jews.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in an op-ed at the Jerusalem Post that Roth and his supporters had “concoct[ed] a conspiracy theory” that the dean’s decision had been influenced by Israeli donors.
“It’s a textbook case of classic antisemitism: It’s not the leadership of the Kennedy School that made this decision, oh no,” Greenblatt wrote. “It’s the powerful and monied Jewish elite that really influences things behind the scenes.”
Dean Douglas Elmendorf on Thursday said his decision to refuse Roth a fellowship was “not influenced by donors.”
“Donors do not affect our consideration of academic matters. My decision also was not made to limit debate at the Kennedy School about human rights in any country. As a community we are steadfastly committed to free inquiry and including a wide range of views on public policy, and the appointment of a Fellow is never an endorsement of the views of that individual nor a refutation of other views. My decision on Mr. Roth last summer was based on my evaluation of his potential contributions to the School.”
“I now believe that I made an error in my decision not to appoint him as a Fellow at our Carr Center for Human Rights. I am sorry that the decision inadvertently cast doubt on the mission of the School and our commitment to open debate in ways I had not intended and do not believe to be true,” he said.
Roth responded that he was “thrilled” at Elmendorf’s decision to reverse course.
H called on Elmendorf to expose the people that, Roth c;aimed, were behind his veto decision.
A report by Israeli watchdog NGO Monitor last year accused Roth of legitimizing antisemitism under the pretext of human rights.
The founder of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein, authored a New York Times op-ed in 2009 slamming Roth for his excessive condemnation of Israel, which far exceeded that of any of the “authoritarian regimes with appalling human rights records.”
He also said the organization, under Roth’s direction, had issued reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that helped those seeking to turn Israel, which it has deemed an “apartheid state,” into a pariah, while barely making mention of the terror groups bent on destroying it.
HRW even spread the blood libel that Israel was purposefully denying COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians, when it was the Palestinian Authority that refused the vaccine from Israel.
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