Local News

Co-chair of Harvard antisemitism task force resigns

Raffaella Sadun, a professor of business administration, did not give a reason for stepping down, but a colleague said she appeared to be frustrated at how long it was taking to make progress on addressing the issue.

The Harvard University gate entrance. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

By Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times Service

February 27, 2024

2 minutes to read

The co-chair of a task force set up by Harvard University to combat antisemitism resigned Sunday, the second high-profile resignation in the university’s efforts to address complaints that Jewish students have felt increasingly uncomfortable on campus since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7.

The co-chair, Raffaella Sadun, a professor of business administration, did not give a reason for stepping down, but a colleague said she appeared to be frustrated at how long it was taking to make progress on addressing the issue.

“Basically her conclusion is that she didn’t feel confident or satisfied that she could lead and influence this process in a way that made sense to her,” said Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi of Harvard Chabad, a Jewish campus organization. He said he had spoken with several people with knowledge of Sadun’s thinking.

The upheaval shows how volatile the climate has been at Harvard since the Hamas attack on Israel. The attack, and Harvard’s often fumbling responses to it, have intensified long-standing anxiety among Jewish students and alumni that they can no longer feel entirely at home at the Ivy League school.

Sadun’s resignation is the latest in a series of stumbles for Harvard’s efforts to address antisemitism on campus.

In January, Alan Garber, who took over as Harvard’s interim president after Claudine Gay resigned under pressure, created two new task forces, one on antisemitism and one on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias.

He appointed Sadun and Derek Penslar as co-chairs of the task force on antisemitism. Sadun was seen as a counterweight to Penslar, a professor of Jewish history, who had faced protests.

“She was the one who was supposed to be the reassuring voice and leader on the task force,” Zarchi said.

Even as it accepted Sadun’s resignation Sunday, the university announced who the members of both task forces would be, and it named a law professor, Jared Ellias, to replace Sadun.

“Over the past five months, grief, anger and fear have taken a toll on members of our community as divisions on our campus have persisted,” Garber said in the announcement. “We must do more to bridge the fissures.”