Billionaire resigns from Harvard Dean's Council role after lawsuit alleges ties to Hamas
An allegedly pro-Hamas billionaire recently resigned from his position on the Dean’s Council at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Bashar Masri resigned his position at HKS following a lawsuit against him that was filed on April 7, according to The New York Post.
An allegedly pro-Hamas billionaire recently resigned from his position on the Dean’s Council at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (HKS) following a lawsuit that contended that he aided the Palestinian terror group.
Bashar Masri resigned his position at HKS following a lawsuit against him that was filed on April 7, according to The New York Post. Masri, a Palestinian-American businessman, helped to design an infrastructure project in Gaza, but the lawsuit asserts that the proposal includes “terror infrastructure” that supported Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks against Israel.
“Defendants were an integral part of that grand deception,” the lawsuit asserts. “They owned and operated flagship properties in Gaza that they knowingly and deliberately integrated into Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure and that were crucial elements in Hamas’s attack plan on October 7. Defendants’ conduct also foreseeably contributed to further military and civilian deaths in the months that followed.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, contends that Masri “grew up believing that violence against Jews and Israel was justified” and intended to aid Hamas in the fight against Israel.
More than 200 family members of victims of the Oct. 7 attack joined the suit as plaintiffs, according to Jewish News Syndicate.
The suit contends that Masri, under the guide of investing in “large-scale development projects in the Palestinian Territories,” instead built infrastructure “used on October 7, 2023” to “provide cover” for Hamas’ attack.
In a statement provided to Campus Reform, a spokesperson from HKS confirmed that Masri had stepped down from his position at the school and acknowledged that the allegations against him are “serious.”
“Mr. Masri has resigned from the Dean’s Council,” the spokesperson said. “The lawsuit raises serious allegations that should be vetted and addressed through the legal process.”
Campus Reform has reported that Harvard is one of 60 schools that the Department of Education is investigating to determine if they adequately protect Jewish students on campus. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a statement last month condemning schools’ failure to adequately fight against anti-Semitism.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” McMahon said. “University leaders must do better.”
Campus Reform has contacted Bashar Masri for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
