Larry Summers blasts Harvard over antisemitism: ‘I have lost confidence’

Summers, a former president of Harvard, strongly criticized the selection of Harvard professor Derek Penslar as the co-chair of a newly-formed presidential task force on antisemitism.

“I have lost confidence in the determination and ability of the Harvard Corporation and Harvard leadership to maintain Harvard as a place where Jews and Israelis can flourish,” Summers said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The backlash underscores how Harvard remains very much under fire even after the resignation earlier this month of Claudine Gay as university president. Lawmakers and federal officials are investigating Harvard’s handling of antisemitism on campus and a House panel is probing how the school handled the plagiarism allegations surrounding Gay.

Even efforts to fight antisemitism are creating controversy.

Summers, a former top adviser to Presidents Clinton and Obama, argued that Penslar is “unsuited” to co-chair the task force because he has “publicly minimized” Harvard’s antisemitism problem.

“Could one imagine Harvard appointing as head of anti-racism task force someone who had minimized the racism problem or who had argued against federal anti-racism efforts?” Summers said.

Although Summers said Penslar is a “person of good will without a trace of personal” antisemitism, the economist still called for him to step aside as co-chair of the task force.

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, a frequent critic of Harvard leaders, responded to the appointment of Penslar by posting on X: “Harvard continues on the path of darkness.”

Penslar, a professor of Jewish history, referred questions from CNN to Harvard’s media office.

Harvard representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

The American Academy for Jewish Research, which describes itself as the “oldest organization of Jewish studies in North America”, issued a statement on Sunday defending Penslar, who previously led the group.

“Professor Penslar is a prolific scholar with a stellar international reputation,” the group said. “It is precisely this ind of expertise that is needed in the current moment.”

The American Academy for Jewish Research added that it was “dismayed by the attacks being leveled against Penslar’s scholarship and his commitment to the task force’s work.”

Alan Garber, Harvard’s interim president, unveiled a pair of presidential task forces on Friday designed to fight both antisemitism and Islamophobia. The task forces will be charged with examining bias, determining root causes and compiling recommendations to combat hate.

“Reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic acts on our campus have grown, and the sense of belonging among these groups has been undermined,” Garber said in the announcement. “We need to understand why and how that is happening—and what more we might do to prevent it.”

Notably, Summers directly criticized the Harvard Corporation, the secretive yet powerful board that runs the university.

The Corporation, run by billionaire former Obama Cabinet secretary Penny Pritzker, has faced scrutiny for how it handled the crisis at the school.

Summers said he hopes “Harvard’s leadership will recognize that they have exacerbated Harvard’s credibility problems on anti-Semitism with the Penslar appointment and take steps to retore their credibility.”

The former Harvard president noted that amid the turmoil, the school’s early admissions applications tumbled through November 1.

“As things currently stand, I am unable to reassure Harvard community members, those we are recruiting or prospective students that Harvard is making progress in countering anti-Semitism,” Summers said.

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