'Not against free speech, but ....': Bill Ackman on not hiring students supporting Hamas anonymously

He clarified that his concern is not about free speech, but rather about students endorsing this anonymously while using the university's reputation as leverage.

“I am 100% in support of free speech. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I do however object to students putting out a statement holding Israel ‘entirely responsible’ for terrorists’ heinous and despicable acts, but doing so anonymously under a corporate veil while leveraging the @Harvard brand,” tweeted the founder of Pershing Square Holdings.

“One should be prepared to stand up and be personally accountable for his or her views,” he added.

Ackman wrote on X that several CEOs had asked him, whether the university would release the names of the members of these student organizations, “so as to insure (sic) that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members”.

He added, “If, in fact, their members support the letter they have released, the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known.”

Ackman’s response came after senior journalist and author Mehdi Hasan called out Ackman on this decision to shame and punish the students for taking a stand that Ackman disapproves of.

According to media reports, he posted, “Hedge fund guy who has pretended in the past to care about free speech now wants to name, shame, and punish college students for expressing views he dislikes and finds offensive. But sure, this isn’t ‘cancel culture’. This isn’t straight-up McCarthyism *shrugging emoji*”.

The post in question could not be found at the time of writing this report.

In response to Hasan, Ackman tweeted that he was not against free speech but disapproved of anonymous solidarity that also leverages a brand.

Members of various student organizations have dissociated themselves from the public letter and announced their resignation, stating that they did not support the public letter.

 

“There is nothing wrong with criticising Israel. That is the essence of free speech. But you shouldn’t hide behind a Harvard-branded corporation while doing so anonymously,” he reiterated.

Earlier, Ackman had remarked on Harvard University's student organizations, pointing out that they were putting the entire blame for the Hamas attack on Israeli citizens on Israel.