Harvard University just can’t seem to get it right when it comes to dealing with growing antisemitism on its campus. Weeks after the Claudine Gay fiasco, the university created a task force ostensibly to combat anti-Jewish bigotry on campus, but one of the individuals placed in charge of this initiative might not have been the smartest choice.

The university has placed Jewish history professor Derek Penslar as co-chair of this task force. However, the professor’s past writings suggest that he might not be all that gung-ho about opposing antisemitism on campus.

Harvard University has created a task force to fight antisemitism on campus — and the effort is already embroiled in controversy.

The co-chair of the school’s newly appointed Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism once declared “veins of hatred run through Jewish civilization,” according to his 2023 book.

“Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians from their land and oppression of those who remain have made it one of the most disliked countries on the planet,” Jewish history professor Derek Penslar claimed in his tome, “Zionism: An Emotional State,” in which he wrote, “Jewish culture was steeped in fantasies (and occasionally, acts) of vengeance against Christians.”

Shortly after Gay resigned as president of Harvard, Penslar downplayed the apparent rise of antisemitic sentiments on campus. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that people had “exaggerated” the matter.

“Yes, we have a problem with antisemitism at Harvard, just like we have a problem with Islamophobia and how students converse with each other,” said Penslar, who describes himself as “left of center.” “The problems are real. But outsiders took a very real problem and proceeded to exaggerate its scope.”

What could Harvard’s leadership be thinking by appointing Penslar to this position? The notion that a professor who has expressed anti-Jewish and anti-Israel views would be a good candidate for a campaign to stop antisemitism defies all logic and reason. It would be like putting David Duke in charge of an initiative to stop discrimination against African American students.

Either the university is woefully inept at vetting the people it puts in positions of leadership, or it doesn’t actually care about antisemitism and is simply trying to keep up appearances. Gay’s December testimony before Congress, if it reflects the views of the rest of the university’s administration, would suggest the latter.

Ever since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, universities across the nation have seen a distinct rise in antisemitic views being expressed – especially by pro-Hamas protesters who have wreaked all kinds of havoc on these campuses. In many instances, they have blatantly called for genocide against the Jewish people in Israel and have even threatened Jewish students. The notion that the issue is “exaggerated” is absurd on its face.

Yet, private institutions like Harvard insist on allowing this trend to continue even though they likely would have intervened if the bigoted elements on campus were targeting a different group. After all, if a mass of protesters came out demonstrating against LGBTQ inclusion, we already know the university would nip that in the bud quickly. If this appointment is any indication, it appears antisemitism will continue to thrive at Harvard.