MORE ANTI-SEMITISM AT HARVARD:

After Harvard Divinity School student Shabbos “Alexander” Kestenbaum denounced the defacing of posters in a Jan. 21 post on X, he received an email from a Harvard employee challenging him to a debate on Israel’s role in 9/11.

“I invite you to debate me today at the Cambridge Street overpass 12-1, don’t miss it!” Gustavo “Gus” Espada ’96, an active University employee at the time, wrote in a Jan. 25 email to Kestenbaum.

“If you don’t show up I will use a puppet or potted plant to represent you!” he added.

Kestenbaum, who is one of six Jewish students suing Harvard for its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus, said in an interview with The Crimson that he reported the incident to Harvard’s Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

Espada posted a TikTok video later that day speaking in Spanish and waving a toy machete. The video includes a screenshot of Kestenbaum’s post on X.

“I, of course, was fearing for my safety,” Kestenbaum said. “And again, what made it particularly upsetting and frustrating was the fact that Harvard did not respond to any of my calls, emails, or pleas for protection.” . . .

Espada remains listed as the financial and systems coordinator for Harvard’s Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, according to the department’s website.

So much of the overpoliticized bad behavior on campuses comes from administrative employees.