A Harvard professor says a former student is getting doxxed over the letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ attacks — even though they graduated in 2021

A letter signed by Harvard student groups that blamed Israel for the Hamas attacks has drawn significant backlash from figures like billionaire investor Bill Ackman and Senator Ted Cruz.

Now, one professor says a recent graduate is being targeted despite — according to the person — not having any involvement with the letter.

On Wednesday, Jason Furman, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, shared a screenshot on X of an email from a person who says they graduated from Harvard in 2021. The post on X — the platform formerly known as Twitter — has since been seen more than 500,000 times.

The person wrote they had been doxxed in relation to the letter despite having nothing to do with it. Doxxing refers to having someone’s identity being posted online without their permission.

“Not only did I not sign or have knowledge of this petition, I am not even part of these organizations anymore. I’ve graduated,” the person wrote in the email.

The person — who said that they graduated in 2021 — said their name had been posted on online lists which have been circulating because of backlash against the letter.

The identity of the writer was not disclosed in the email. Insider could not independently verify the contents of the email or the identity of the person who sent it.

Furman said on X that though he was reassured by the condemnation of the letter, he was “appalled by people threatening individual students.”

“I’m even more appalled since many of them had nothing to do with the letter,” he said.

The Harvard professor told Insider late Wednesday evening that the person emailed him after Furman spoke out against doxxing students whose groups signed the letter. Furman, who has been a professor at the university since 2017, said he was confident the person’s account was real as they had also emailed other academics at the university.

The letter in question laid the blame for the Hamas attacks on Israel. “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” wrote the letter, which was signed by over 30 Harvard student groups.

The letter prompted backlash from the alumni, students, CEOs, and investors. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said the list of the letter’s signees should be shared so “none of us inadvertently hire any of their members.” Ale Resnik, the CEO of a rental housing company, added, “Share the list, please. We’ll stay away.”

Outside of Harvard, an NYU law student had her job offer rescinded by a law firm after they wrote a viral newsletter arguing that Israel “bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life.”

The Palestine Solidarity Committee, the group that penned the letter, told the Harvard Crimson it was calling on the university to “immediately and unequivocally condemn the harassment and intimidation of its students.”

Harvard Hillel, the university’s Jewish center, released a statement on Wednesday, saying: “We will continue to reject the PSC’s statement in the strongest terms — and demand accountability for those who signed it. But under no circumstances should that accountability extend to public intimidation of individuals.”

In a post on X on Thursday, Ackman hit back at students who said they weren’t aware of or disagreed with the letter’s contents.

“Claiming that you had no involvement or knowledge of the statement, but remaining a member of the organization without it withdrawing the statement is perhaps the worst of the alternatives,” Ackman wrote. “As it appears to simply be an attempt to avoid accountability while continuing to be a member of the organization.”

“It is not harassment to seek to understand the character of the candidates that you are considering for employment,” he added.

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

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