A person working at Harvard was caught on camera tearing down Israeli hostage posters, leading to a confrontation with a student who tried to stop him.
The video, now circulating on social media, shows the student approach the worker and question why he was taking the fliers down. In the video the pair can be heard arguing over Harvard policy and Massachusetts law, with the worker saying it is his job to take the posters down, and the man recording pushing back, claiming there are certain days set for the posters or any other fliers to be removed.
The person taking the video said they were doing so on behalf of Harvard Chabad. On social media, Harvard Chabad said they have been sponsoring the posters and that they have been repeatedly ripped down.
During the confrontation, the worker can be heard using profanity and telling the man recording to leave. At one point, a third man interrupts, apparently trying to defuse the situation. That third man can be seen physically holding the worker back as the situation escalates.
Harvard University is now condemning the worker’s actions, saying in a statement:
“Harvard strongly condemns the individual’s conduct reflected in the video of the incident, and, as a result, the contract worker was directed to leave campus, and his employer has been notified that the individual may not be assigned to return to campus to perform work in the future.”
Student groups are allowed to post in designated areas of the campus. There is a long-standing procedure at Harvard to remove the public postings in Harvard Yard on Mondays and Thursdays. The video was recorded on a Wednesday morning.
The “kidnapped” posters are meant to serve as a reminder of those believed to be held hostage by Hamas, and have been spotted in multiple Massachusetts communities.
This is not the first time the posters become a flashpoint, with tensions high over the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. A dentist was fired after she was recorded taking down similar posters in Chestnut Hill. In Newton, a hate crime investigation is underway after similar posters were allegedly defaced by vandals.
The violence and humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Gaza, where Israeli forces continue to lay siege following the terror attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.