Harvard stands by decision to award honorary degree to pro-BDS prof
Harvard University has defended an honorary degree to an academic who has previously expressed support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At its May 29 commencement ceremony, Harvard granted Elaine Kim of UC Berkeley the honorary degree.
Harvard University awarded an honorary degree to an academic who has previously expressed support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The individual is Elaine Kim, professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. At its May 29 commencement ceremony, Harvard granted Kim an honorary degree, as noted by The Harvard Crimson.
Kim has endorsed the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, according to The Editors. Kim has opposed Israel going back to at least 2003, when she signed a letter that expressed fear that Israel would attempt “to commit further crimes against the Palestinian people, up to full- fledged ethnic cleansing.”
Despite this, Kim was lauded at the graduation ceremony for “fervent commitment to community service.”
On social media, Harvard graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, who has opposed the school’s anti-Semitism response following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, criticized Harvard for honoring a vocal anti-Israel figure.
“If Harvard cares about international students, why give a highly selective honorary degree to someone who wants to ban Israelis?” Kestenbaum posted to X on May 30. “Israel is an American ally. Harvard is not.”
TOTAL DOUBLE STANDARD:
Today, Harvard President Alan Garber criticized the Trump Administration’s policies against foreign students.
”Harvard is not Harvard without its international students.”
Yet less than 20 minutes later, he rewarded an honorary Harvard degree to Elaine… pic.twitter.com/jLeIxqHP5b— Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) May 29, 2025
On June 5, the university posted a statement to its website responding to allegations that it promoted anti-Zionism by granting Kim the honorary degree.
“In granting an honorary degree, Harvard University is not endorsing the political views of the recipient,” the administration contended.
“Harvard University’s position on academic boycotts is clear,” the statement continued. “The University strongly opposes academic boycotts and has stated so publicly.”
Harvard’s decision to recognize Kim is not the only time that it has recently received criticism for promoting controversial figures. This month, Harvard Divinity School (HDS) hired a “counter-Zionist” Jewish academic, Shaul Magid, to a newly created position, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
“Zionism had its time; it did its work; now it can be set aside, along with Manifest Destiny, colonialism, and any number of other chauvinistic and ethnocentric ideologies of the past,” Magid has written.
Similarly, Campus Reform recently reported that an HDS graduate speaker lauded a student who was criminally charged for allegedly assaulting a Jewish student.
“Class of 2025, Palestine is waiting for us to arrive, and you must be courageous enough to rise to the call,” the speaker said while holding a Palestine flag.
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
