Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Harvard Crimson: Former Israeli PM joked about giving exploding pagers to protesters
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's comment was an apparent reference to the September pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett purportedly joked about giving exploding pagers to dissenting audience members during an event at Harvard Business School last week, The Harvard Crimson reported.
According to the Crimson, Bennett’s comment came last Thursday during an event hosted by the HBS Israel Business Club. The event’s moderator reportedly began with a warning that audience members who interrupted the talk would be removed.
“I think we’ll just give them a pager,” Bennett allegedly chimed in, six people present at the off-the-record discussion told the Crimson.
Related:
The comment was an apparent reference to the Sept. 17 and 18 attacks in Lebanon and Syria, during which Israel detonated hundreds of pagers used by members of the militant group Hezbollah, killing dozens of people and injuring several thousand more. Israel confirmed it was behind the attacks nearly two months later.
Advertisement:
Harvard Business School declined to comment on Bennett’s alleged remark. A request for comment sent to an email address listed for Bennett went unanswered Tuesday.
One event attendee, Harvard Kennedy School student Noa Margalit, told the Crimson Bennett’s remark was “just a very poor taste joke.” In a statement obtained by the student newspaper, HBS Israel Business Club representatives likewise said Bennett made it clear his comment was “intended as a joke.”
“It was delivered within the context of his first words — explicitly thanking every single person in the room for being present,” they said, according to the Crimson.
Advertisement:
Meanwhile, more than 100 people rallied last Thursday to protest Bennett’s visit, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans in the nearby John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, The Boston Globe reported.
Bennett, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022, has repeatedly stated his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state. He’s described himself as “more right-wing” than sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has notably faced mounting criticism over his own hawkish approach to the Israel–Hamas war.
During a visit to Washington earlier this year, Netanyahu gave President Donald Trump a golden beeper as a gift in a nod to the September attacks, the Associated Press reported.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com