Anti-Semitism on U.S. campuses: Harvard president resigns

In the United States, the president of Harvard resigns... Claudine Gay has been in an ejection seat since her congressional hearing a few weeks ago on the fight against anti-Semitism on campuses. She becomes the second university president to resign amid the war in Gaza.

Harvard University President Claudine Gay testifies before a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Dec. 5, 2023. REUTERS - KEN CEDENO

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With our correspondent in Washington, Loubna Anaki

It will have lasted less than a month after its highly controversial appearance before a congressional committee.

On December 5, Claudine Gay was asked the following question: "Does a call for the genocide of the Jews constitute a breach of university rules?" and replied "it depends on the context." His answer, from a purely legal point of view, was no less clumsy.

Faced with the controversy, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, who was also interviewed and who also gave a similar answer, resigned.

Claudine Gay apologized and received the support of the Harvard board. But donors to the prestigious university as well as many conservative politicians have continued to call for his departure.

Added to all this were accusations of plagiarism linked to his academic work, relayed by a right-wing website.

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It is in the interest of Harvard that I resign Claudine Gay wrote yesterday in her resignation letter.

Her presidency, the first by a black woman, was the shortest in the university's history: just six months.

Read alsoUnited States: the congressional hearing of three university presidents on anti-Semitism sparks controversy

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