It's not often that we can report on these pages positive news from Ivy League campuses, but today is one of those rare days. The Harvard Crimson reported Friday that Elom Tettey-Tamaklo, a graduate student at the Harvard Divinity School, was let go from his job as a freshman proctor after video surfaced of him harassing an Israeli classmate.
A divinity student. Let that sink in.
The Crimson described the role of a proctor at Harvard:
Proctors are Harvard graduate students, instructors, or staff who oversee a group of freshmen. They are unpaid and receive compensation in the form of meal swipes and housing in a freshman dorm. According to the petition, Tettey-Tamaklo was asked to vacate Thayer on Friday.
They let this guy oversee freshman?
The video in question showed Tettery-Tamaklo joining with other pro-Hamas protesters at Harvard, who were forming a circle around an Israel student and refusing to let the student leave. Tettery-Tamaklo is seen shouting, "Shame!" directly into the Israeli's face, and using his body and a keffiyeh he was carrying to prevent the young student from getting away from the angry crowd.
WATCH:
After the disturbing video made its way around the internet, calls were made for Harvard to enforce its own rules for keeping Jewish students safe. A group of prominent Harvard graduates, including Mitt Romney, called on the school to "muster the courage to lead by re-establishing moral and respectful conduct on your campuses." The video showing Tettery-Tamaklo's extremist behavior was of particular concern, with the group writing:
The videos that have been made public, particularly the most recent violent assault of an Israeli student on the Harvard Business School campus, allow us all to see how Jewish and Israeli students are targets of threats and violence from groups of pro-Palestinian students. Despite these serious concerns, University leadership shockingly has been paralyzed.
A look into Elon Tettery-Tamaklo's past shows his proclivity for antisemitic extremism has been brewing for some time. One report states that he took part in spring break trip to both Israel and the West Bank earlier in 2023, designed to "highlight the Palestinian narrative." Other students who were on the trip with him returned to their campuses and urged their fellow students "to become violently aware of the subjugation that terrorizes Palestinians and the ways in which they resist it.”
Taking up this call to arms, Tettery-Tamaklo set up a group at Harvard called "Graduate Students 4 Palestine," which seems to serve as a propaganda tool for Hamas. A quick look at their Instagram account shows they peddle extremist, antisemitic rhetoric. Their dangerous, ignoble goal is to make Jewish students feel unsafe.
In getting the boot from his position, Tettey-Tamaklo loses his job, his meal plan and his campus housing. It's a good start, but Harvard needs to show they are serious about protecting Jewish students by removing him from campus altogether.