Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman remains steadfast in his decision to blacklist Harvard students who attributed blame to Israel for the recent rocket attack by the proscribed organization, Hamas. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he offered some advice to these students.
Ackman stated, “If you are part of an organization that releases a public statement with which you disagree, you have several options. First, you can choose to remain silent, but this may lead the world to assume that you endorse the statement. Another option is to persuade fellow members of the group to retract the statement.”
In his view, the second option involves resigning from the organization as a form of protest against the statement. However, he considered the worst alternative to be disavowing any knowledge or involvement in the statement while continuing to remain a member of the organization. He regarded this as an attempt to evade accountability.
These comments followed Bill Ackman’s initial statement that he would not consider hiring “pro-Hamas Harvard University students,” a stance that sparked controversy when he defended it.
Bill Ackman, an alumnus of Harvard, explained on X that he had been asked whether the university would disclose a list of the groups’ members who issued the student letter, allowing employers to avoid hiring them.
He argued that one should not be able to shield themselves behind a corporate identity while issuing statements that support the actions of terrorists.
Ackman continued to defend his decision and raised several questions about the situation in Israel, asking people to consider the sense of insecurity in Israel from Saturday morning onwards.
He also encouraged readers to think about the fear experienced by their Jewish classmates when 32 clubs released a statement assigning exclusive blame for the heinous and deadly actions of terrorists to Israel and the Jewish community.
In conclusion, Ackman emphasized that public statements made by organizations of which you are a part can significantly impact your reputation.
Ackman had previously commented on Harvard University’s student organizations and their letter, revealing that he had been approached by several CEOs inquiring about the university’s willingness to release a list of the student organizations’ members “to ensure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members.”
Senior journalist and author Mehdi Hasan raised questions about Ackman’s call to shame and penalize students who took a stance that Ackman disapproved of.
