Former HRW chief denied Harvard fellowship over 'anti-Israel bias'

Harvard University has rescinded a fellowship offer for a former Human Rights Watch chief over his criticism of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, according to US magazine The Nation. 

Kenneth Roth spend nearly 30 years as the executive director of the rights group before announcing his retirement in April 2022. 

So much for academic freedom at Harvard's @Kennedy_School: Dean Douglas Elmendorf was so fearful of @HRW's reporting on Israel (applying the same standards as HRW does everywhere else) that he vetoed a fellowship that the Kennedy @CarrCenter offered me. https://t.co/ZFL42AV3lj

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) January 5, 2023

He later received an offer to join the Harvard Kennedy School, the university's school of public policy and government, as a senior fellow from the executive director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy.

The offer however was allegedly rescinded by the dean of the school, Douglas Elmendorf, who accused Roth of "anti-Israel bias" and took issue with the human rights worker's past tweets on Israel.

Roth described the decision as "crazy", according to The Nation, adding that Elmendorf "has no backbone whatsoever",

He tweeted that "Elmendorf was so fearful of @HRW's reporting on Israel (applying the same standards as HRW does everywhere else) that he vetoed a fellowship that the Kennedy @CarrCenter offered me".

Roth has since accepted a visiting fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Kenneth Roth is a well-known figure among academics and activists, labelled the 'godfather' of human rights by The New York Times.

Under Kenneth Roth’s leadership, Human Rights Watch expanded from 60 employees to 550 who monitor more than 100 countries, and the organisation's budget has grown from around $7 million to almost $100 million. 

Human Rights Watch was one of several rights groups, including Amnesty International, that accused Israel of apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

This was echoed by the United Nations in 2022, when UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine Michael Lynk described Israel’s occupation as apartheid. 

Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 but has kept the Palestinian territory under a crippling siege.

Academics, journalists, and activists who have spoken out in support of the Palestinian people have repeatedly been discriminated against by international institutions, universities, and governments.