After being told to cancel, Harvard students hold anti-Zionist Passover

Over Passover weekend at Harvard, students held an “anti-zionist” Seder after being told by the school they weren’t allowed to because of accusations the event was co-organized by an unrecognized student organization.

“Adams House administrators withdrew funding and revoked a room reservation for a Saturday ‘anti-zionist Passover seder for liberation’ organized by a group of Adams students,” student paper The Harvard Crimson reported.

“House administrator Matthew Burke accused the students of organizing the event with an unrecognized student group, Harvard Jews for Palestine, and demanded they cancel the seder,” The Crimson reported.

Harvard Jews for Palestine is a group that “frequently organizes pro-Palestine protests on campus,” according to The Crimson.

Harvard Jews for Palestine did indeed hold a sign-up for an “open to all” Passover Seder in Adams House scheduled for Saturday, April 12, according to an online form, which would appear to confirm Burke’s claim.

As Harvard is “[ramping] up efforts to limit the presence of unrecognized student organizations on campus,” according to The Crimson, an event organized with an unrecognized group would not be acceptable.

However, “the students disputed Burke’s claim” of co-organization and “held the event anyway” in a closed-door common room, “without intervention from Adams,” The Crimson reported.

When told to cancel the Passover, event organizer Tamar Sella “denounced House administrators” and wrote in a message to a mailing list that “we – as Jewish students in Adams House – will be gathering in the Adams dining hall TONIGHT and moving forward with our anti-Zionist seder for LIBERATION loud and proud,” according to The Crimson.

The event was not held “under the name of any student group,” The Crimson reported.

However, in addition to providing a sign-up form, Harvard Jews for Palestine also advertised the “anti-zionist Passover seder for liberation” on its Instagram account.

“Join anti-Zionist Jewish students, faculty, and staff at Harvard for Passover 5785 – a seder for liberation,” the group posted.

“We engage in ritual practice and look to our historical struggle in our present fight for liberation, amidst Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and occupation of Palestine,” the group wrote.

“We observe this Passover, a celebration of our own liberation from slavery in Egypt, by remembering those who remain subjugated – and by continuing to call for the total liberation of all people, from every river to every sea,” the group said.

When Harvard’s media relations were reached for comment, Jonathan Palumbo of Harvard College Office of Communications said that the school cannot comment on a communication between a student and Harvard house.

“I can share that in general, according to our policies, only recognized student organizations may access University resources,” Palumbo said.

“Students are welcome to utilize space to host conversations or other events but only recognized student organizations may book space,” Palumbo said.

Palumbo referred The Center Square to policies from the Harvard College Student Organization Resource Guide, which state that “co-sponsorship of an event with Non-Harvard organizations or individuals is not permitted on the Harvard campus.”

Additionally, Harvard policy states that “non-Harvard organizations and individuals may not hold events on campus by using a student organization as a vehicle to stage an event on campus property or to reserve a campus room for a function.”

Neither Matthew Burke nor Adams House responded when asked to comment.

Adams House is one of 12 undergraduate residential houses, according to its website.

Adams House offers several student support programs, including LGBTQ tutors and a Hair Art Project, the latter of which brings in Black hairstylists who “provide free services” to residents.

To preserve its self-described “place in queer history,” Adams House also offers an annual drag show, according to a webpage on its history.