NEW YORK – A billionaire hedge fund manager is making waves on Twitter for asking Harvard University to share the names of students belonging to organizations that issued a letter placing full responsibility for the Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
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Pershing Square Holdings CEO Bill Ackman’s October 10th Twitter post came in response to a letter signed by more than 30 Harvard student groups holding “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” and calling on “the Harvard community to take action to stop the ongoing annihilation of Palestinians.”
In his post, which received more than 16 million views in just under 24 hours, Ackman said that he and other CEOs wanted to know the names of all students affiliated with the organizations that signed on the letter in order to avoid “inadvertently” hiring any of them in the future.
I have been asked by a number of CEOs if @harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their… https://t.co/7kzGOAGwp9
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) October 10, 2023
“One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorist, who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other inconceivably despicable acts,” tweeted Ackman, whose wife Neri Oxman is Israeli-born.
Several other CEOs expressed their support for Ackman’s post, reported Forbes (www.bit.ly/48Mahrf), including Sweetgreen’s Jonathan Neman, EasyHealth’s David Duel and DoveHill Capital Management’s Jake Wurzak. Others who expressed indignation at the Harvard letter included Senator Ted Cruz who tweeted, “What the hell is wrong with Harvard? Given the choice between standing with Israel or supporting terrorists who are raping, kidnapping & killing thousands of women & children…31 student groups choose the terrorists. Their blazing hatred and antisemitism [is] utterly blinding.”
Not surprisingly, Ackman was criticized by some on Twitter, with user Gönenç Gürkaynak, a Muslim graduate of Harvard Law School accusing him of colluding with other CEOs to exclude particular groups of students, which he described as a violation of federal anti-trust laws. Still, others voiced their support for Ackman, a Harvard alumnus, who wrote his thesis on exploring the Jewish and Asian experience in the Harvard admissions process, as reported by Business Insider (www.bit.ly/45spc6Q ).
“They’ll just be waiting for the chance to sue you for some injustice or harassment you put upon them as their employer. Avoid them at all costs,” tweeted user Sarah T.
“I couldn’t believe this when I saw it,” wrote user Adam Lipkin C-PACE Guy. “This should be part of a background check. I wouldn’t want anybody that endorsed this message working for me.”
Twitter use Danielle Mikelian, who identified herself as a board member of one of the groups that signed on the letter, also commented on Ackman’s post, saying that she resigned her position and calling the letter “egregious.”
“I am sorry for the pain this caused,” tweeted Mikelian. “My organization did not have a formal process and I didn’t even see the statement until we had signed on.”
A second year student at Harvard Law School who comes from Armenia, Mikelian said that she prevented another student group from signing on the letter after seeing its contents. She noted that several other students had also tendered their board resignations because of its sentiments.
These students want us to pay for their “education”.
It would be an interesting lawsuit. The civil rights of terrorist supporters against Jewish business owners who refuse to hire people who support the beheading of Jewish children. I guess that Jewish and Black business owners would have to hire people with Swastika tattoos as well. Bring it on
Note that Mikelian is a law school student who just admitted to signing documents without first reading them. For that alone, who would want to hire her!?
“Twitter use Danielle Mikelian, who identified herself as a board member of one of the groups that signed on the letter, also commented on Ackman’s post, saying that she resigned her position and calling the letter “egregious.”
“I am sorry for the pain this caused,” tweeted Mikelian. “My organization did not have a formal process and I didn’t even see the statement until we had signed on.”
At best she’s an utter fool. If she IS smart enough to read before signing then she’s a LIAR. At worst, she’s sniffed where the wind was blowing and after the fact tried to protect herself with a convulsive incompetent explanation of how to retroactively undo her misdeed so that it won’t harm her career future and was purely a self serving move.
We Yidden are smart and see right thru the tzoah.
Except for protected groups, you may hire whom you like. In this day and age the names of the persons who signed these documents cannot remain hidden.
“accusing him of colluding with other CEOs to exclude particular groups of students, which he described as a violation of federal anti-trust laws.”
particular groups — those who support atrocities.
This is the dumbes idea. When i was a college aged student i held some very dumb ideas, including one to annihilate all muslims in the middle east. So now i should never be hired again? i was a stupid kid who was influenced my stupid machismo and bravado.