- Bill Ackman says Harvard students who stand by a statement slamming Israel should be held accountable.
- "There is nothing wrong with criticising Israel. That is the essence of free speech," Ackman wrote on X.
Bill Ackman is doubling down on his stance that the Harvard students who stand by their organizations' statement on the Hamas-Israel war should not be allowed to hide behind the Harvard brand name.
Ackman posted on X late on Tuesday night in response to criticism from MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan. In a post on Tuesday evening, Hasan slammed Ackman for calling on Harvard to release the names of the students whose organizations signed a statement blaming Israel for Hamas' attacks.
"Hedge fund guy who has pretended in the past to care about free speech now wants to name, shame, and punish college students for expressing views he dislikes and finds offensive," Hasan wrote.
In response, Ackman wrote that he believes in free speech, and that "everyone is entitled to their opinion."
"I do however object to students putting out a statement holding Israel 'entirely responsible' for terrorists' heinous and despicable acts, but doing so anonymously under a corporate veil while leveraging the @Harvard brand," Ackman wrote.
The students should "be prepared to stand up and be personally accountable" for their views, Ackman added. Ackman also said some members of the student groups have resigned from their positions in the organizations, and distanced themselves from the statement.
"There is nothing wrong with criticising Israel. That is the essence of free speech. But you shouldn't hide behind a Harvard branded corporation while doing so anonymously," Ackman wrote.
The letter that put Harvard and its students in the hot seat is a joint statement from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups that was released on Sunday.
"We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence," the letter stated, blaming "the apartheid regime" for Hamas' violence.
Other CEOs have joined Ackman in asking Harvard to release the names of the students who still stand by this statement so they can add them to a no-hire list. They include Jonathan Newman, the cofounder of salad chain Sweetgreen; Jake Wurzak, the CEO of Dovehill Capital Management; and Michael Broukhim, the co-CEO of gift box membership company FabFitFun.
There have already been consequences for some students who've spoken up about the ongoing conflict. The law firm Winston & Strawn said it rescinded a job offer for Ryna Workman, the president of the NYU Student Bar Association. This was after Workman wrote a viral newsletter message arguing that "Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life."
Representatives for Ackman at Pershing Square did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.