On the Antisemitic Cartoon

I am Jewish.

Throughout my life, I have experienced antisemitism in countless ways. In eighth grade, classmates would “sieg heil” when passing me in the halls. One told me Hitler was his hero. I’ve had pennies thrown at me, and I’ve been grilled by coworkers on my “allegiance to Israel” after they learned my faith.

Naturally, when I saw a patently antisemitic cartoon shared by my peers on Instagram this Monday, I was appalled.

The image was featured in an infographic slideshow on Black and Palestinian solidarity jointly posted by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee and the African and African American Resistance Organization — an unrecognized student organization that has taken the lead in pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

The infographic circulated and was reposted by Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine before being taken down and reposted with the antisemitic image removed.

Realistically, I wouldn’t have to spend more than 20 minutes in a Holocaust museum to encounter similar drawings directly alluding to conspiracies of blood libel or a Jewish cabal of elites puppeteering the world.

The distribution and normalization of these images and ideas — in publications like “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” — directly contributed to genocidal campaigns against the Jewish people, and continue to evolve and pervade public discourse.

Strikingly disturbing were the image’s details: two men of color, strung up by their necks, the rope held by a hand imprinted with a Star of David and a dollar sign. I thought back to the sixth grade class I taught at my synagogue about Black and Jewish solidarity in the United States. Not only is the image antisemitic — its use forgets and corrupts that powerful history.

While I believe that antisemitism has pervaded some aspects of the pro-Palestinian movement outside of our campus, I have long felt that accusations of antisemitism on Harvard’s campus have been inflated to inhibit pro-Palestinian activism.

Outside media coverage — somehow more focused on the University president’s alleged tolerance for antisemitism than protestors elsewhere chanting at hospitals and Jewish restaurants — has falsely convinced many casual observers that Harvard is a breeding ground for people who believe I have horns under my curls.

As many have rightly pointed out, demanding justice for Palestinians is not inherently antisemitic. And with a duty to call out the weaponization of antisemitism, we also have a duty to call out its real and alarming presence.

This case was elementary.

It’s clear that in the process of producing this infographic — as with the PSC’s statement after Oct. 7 and the continued use of unproductive and inflammatory slogans by a very vocal few — there was not a concerted evaluation of the potential for collateral damage by AFRO or the PSC.

Backlash should be expected. Over the last five months, it has become clear that conduct at Harvard regarding Israel and Palestine will be over-examined, nitpicked, and de-nuanced by others.

That inherently makes reckless and careless conduct from student organizations all the more harmful.

It shifts focus away from Gaza, where over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed according to Gaza health authorities; where nearly two million Palestinians are internally displaced; and where, according to Israeli intelligence, 29 Israeli hostages are dead and over 100 remain in Hamas’ hands.

It ostracizes progressive Jews from the movement by demonstrating an inability to unequivocally separate staunch criticism of Israel and legitimate calls for Palestinian self-determination from hateful antisemitic tropes.

It makes it easier for critics that don’t give a damn about Palestinians to dismantle activism efforts on our campus, convoluting the already complex task of separating real claims of antisemitism from accusations intended to silence pro-Palestinian protest.

And it damages the ability to have constructive dialogue on a campus full of smart, thoughtful, and caring people that want peace and prosperity for Jews and Palestinians alike in their ancestral lands.

But what the outsider obsessed with Harvard must understand (and perhaps doesn’t want to) is that some of the only people on Harvard’s campus who reached out to me on Oct. 7, and who have actively engaged in difficult conversations about Israel, Palestine, and antisemitism with me, are members of the organizations that made this post. They’re also my friends.

That’s why I would be surprised if the infographic was looked over by more than a few people for more than a few seconds in the first place, which is a failure on its own.

Maybe these shortcomings stem from organizational mismanagement, a lack of awareness, or a fear that acknowledging or listening to criticism will be misconstrued as a surrender to pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian actors. Maybe this instance was somehow just an ignorant mistake.

Regardless, PSC and AFRO leaders have repeatedly failed to wholeheartedly distance their actions from the antisemitism that pervades parts of the Palestinian solidarity movement. It’s impossible to ignore the damage it’s done to the efficacy of their cause on campus.

These organizations must do some soul-searching, evaluate their procedures and values, and reckon with the fact that blatantly antisemitic rhetoric and imagery was neither identified nor removed internally before they shared it with the world.

A deleted post and swift institutional apology will not be enough. As entities dedicated to progress, PSC and AFRO have serious work to do.

In the meantime, I just pray we keep talking to each other.

Matthew E. Nekritz ’25, an Associate Editorial editor, is a Social Studies concentrator in Cabot House.