Erez Ofer

VC backing European and Israeli Tech companies. Enterprise focus: SaaS, Cloud, Virtualization, Storage, Security, DevOps

[Petr Fiala @P_Fiala]

The ICC Chief Prosecutor's proposal to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organisation is appalling and completely unacceptable.

We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people. It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

Meet Guy.
On October 6th, he celebrated peace and love with his friends at the Nova Festival.

In the early morning of October 7th, Hamas-ISIS infiltrated Israel, raided the festival, and perpetrated acts of rape, murder, and kidnapping, taking dozens of hostages, including Guy.

Since October 7th, Guy has been held hostage. We demand his release, along with all the other hostages.

Hamas-ISIS initiated this war against both Israel and its own people.
They can help end it by unconditionally releasing all remaining hostages.

Fundamentalist Islamic terror has no place in this world.

Please share and call for the release of Guy Gilboa-Dalal.

#Bringthemback
#Gaza
#GazaWar
#Ceasefire

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

https://t.co/4jx7jKgz6D

The gender equality minister in France, Aurore Bergé, announced today that she has instructed her office to go over every statement on behalf of any feminist organization in order to exclude governmental budgets from those that do not acknowledge the violence and sexual abuse that occurred on October 7th in Israel.

Credit:
@shayb784

[Shlomo Fishman @shlomo_fishman]

🔸1939 Palestine national football team - all players were Jewish.

🔸1936 Palestine symphony orchestra - all musicians were Jewish.

🔸1947 "Free Palestine" slogan - invented by the Zionist Organization of America, as a slogan against the British.

🔸1902 first bank in Palestine - "Anglo-Palestine bank", was established and run by Jews.

They may fake their own history, but they can't rewrite ours.

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

@mhdksafa This is princess Mary (Shlomzion Hamalka) avenue in Jerusalem in 1940 and it was and still mostly Jewish. Why are you trying to distort history?

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

A must watch for perspective on 10/7 vs 9/11.

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

This is the story of humanitarian aid in Gaza in a short video.

Hamas loots the aid from the people of Gaza who don’t get the humanitarian aid or get it for an expensive price (most of it isn't for sale anyway).

Hamas is the sole cause of suffering both in Israel and Gaza.

Hamas must go.

#FreeGazaFromHamas

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

The role of democracy, among other things, is to protect minorities.
One would expect that leading universities in education, advancement, and global innovation would advocate for minority rights rather than not taking any action against violence on campus, let alone encouraging it!

Unfortunately, as evident from the congressional hearing, the presidents of @Harvard, @MIT and @Penn failed in handling this issue.

Would any minority stay silent if 3 presidents of prominent universities were to say that calls for its genocide are dependent on context?

How did we reach such a state?
What is being taught in American universities?

Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth must go.

#EducateYourself

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

Hours ago, @RabbiWolpe resigned from the @Harvard antisemitism task force set up by President Gay.

The Rabbi, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School, was one of the eight initial members of the task force.

He explains:

“the short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped.”

He also notes that:

“I believe Claudine Gay to be both a kind and thoughtful person.”

I can’t imagine a more powerful indictment of Harvard’s current leadership in the coded but gentle words of a member of the clergy.

In essence, Rabbi Wolpe is saying that antisemitism at Harvard cannot be addressed under current leadership and without significant structural changes at the university which cannot happen with President Gay in charge.

Rabbi Wolpe explains the structural sources of antisemitism at Harvard, which are worth a careful read.

I hope that the Harvard Corporation board is in the midst of an emergency session working through interim leadership planning and a public statement.

President Gay needs to step down now or be removed by the board.

It appears that @Penn is a day or so away from an announcement to that effect.

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

As Charlie Munger of blessed memory advised: “Invert, always invert,” i.e, turn a situation or a problem upside down to better understand and solve it.

So, let’s assume Presidents Gay, Kornbluth, and Magill were available, would any university in the world hire them as president?

The answer of course is no.

Why then should they remain presidents of the most prestigious universities in America?

With this simple thought experiment, we have the answer.

They all have to go.

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

Good Morning Everyone!
@UN_Women
@UN
@antonioguterres

#DefundTheUN

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

The world will be able to judge the relative quality of the governance at @Harvard, @Penn, and @MIT by the comparative speed by which their boards fire their respective presidents.

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

When the president of MIT
Sally Kornbluth, president of UPENN Elizabeth Magill, and Harvard President Claudine Gay were asked whether calling for the murder of Jews is considered a violation of the university's code of conduct or an act of harassment, all three responded that it depends on the context.

Despite U.S. rep @RepStefanik giving them multiple opportunities to clarify and be unequivocal, they did not agree.

They stated all that calling for the murder of Jews is a violation of the ethical code only under certain conditions that were not explicitly detailed.

Anti-Semitic violence has spread across American universities. The leading higher education institutions that drive global innovation are in practice nothing more than nests of terror and hatred.

One cannot wonder what would be their stance if the question was about Afro-Americans or any other minority.

Please SHARE!

#Harvard
#MIT
#Upenn

@Penn
@Harvard
@MIT

[Dani Buller @askdani__real]

Seven Hamas terrorists vs. one Israeli woman.
And yet, @jacksonhinkle will charge you 3$ to tell you these are freedom fighters.

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

This is Naama Levy.
Naama is still in the hands of Hamas. What have they done to her?
Where is the @unwomen ? @unwomenchief ?

Please share - We want Naama and all of the hostages back.

#bringthemback

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

December 3, 2023

Dear President Gay,
Since my letter to you of November 4th to which you did not reply or even acknowledge, I have received substantial feedback and input from senior members of the Harvard faculty about a number of the issues I raised in my letter concerning free speech, antisemitism, and the impact of the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (OEDIB) at Harvard. I thought to share this feedback with you now as it may inform your testimony and potential questions you may receive from the Congress on Tuesday.

Free Speech at Harvard

In several of your communications since October 7th, you have emphasized Harvard’s commitment to free speech as the reason why the university has continued to permit eliminationist and threatening language on campus – i.e., calls for Intifada (suicide bombings, knifings, etc. of Israeli civilians) and the elimination of the state of Israel “From the River to the Sea.” You explained your tolerance for these protests on October 13th: “[O]ur university embraces a commitment to free expression. That commitment extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous.”

In my letter to you, however, I noted that In The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) Free Speech Rankings, Harvard has consistently finished in the bottom quartile in each of the past four years. I note that Harvard’s ranking has deteriorated each year, receiving its lowest free speech ranking ever for the 2023 academic year, last out of 254 universities with a rating of 0.00, the only university with an “abysmal” speech climate.

After sending my letter, I reached out to the faculty to reconcile your free speech absolutist commitment with Harvard having the lowest free speech ranking of any university. The faculty had a lot to say on this issue, as well as on antisemitism and the OEDIB. Notably, they were willing to share their views so long as I committed to keep their identities confidential. I have quoted their remarks below:

On Free Speech

“Years ago, Harvard stopped being a place where all perspectives were welcome.”

“Harvard is a place where loud, hate-filled protests appear to be encouraged, but where faculty and students can’t share points of view that are inconsistent with the accepted narrative on campus.”

“Harvard became a place where if you toed the party line, there was applause. If you disagree, you are drowned out. The gatekeepers of speech continue to further narrow what they deem acceptable speech.”

“The primary problem with speech at Harvard is that if you say the wrong thing, you will be cancelled, which leads to self-censorship. The result is what you actually think is not what you say.”

“Saying anything that doesn’t highlight the importance of slavery and colonialism as animating forces of history is not acceptable speech. Lived experience and ideology become the dominant forces of conversation. All of the courses follow the same playbook ideology. Ideology poses as coursework.”

On Antisemitism, Support for Hamas, and the Protests Against Israel

When I asked members of the faculty about the causes behind the Israeli/Gaza protests and the tolerance for antisemitism on campus, they explained:

“Whiteness at Harvard is deemed fundamentally oppressive. Indigenous peoples are presented as in need of justice and reparations. Jews are presented as white people. It is therefore ok to hate Israel and Jews as they are deemed to be oppressors.”

I asked: “Why are the protests only about Israel versus other conflicts in the Middle East and around the globe where Palestinians and other civilians were killed?”

“Israel is the rare case where we have a hot conflict between people that are deemed ‘white’ versus people of color.”

The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (ODEIB)

“The primary animating force of the ODEIB is racism-colonialism and the denial of indigenous rights. The ODEIB is a home for people who are perceived to have been victimized.”

“The ODEIB was meant to include Asians, but it does not. It is focused on communities that experienced colonialism.”

“Recency matters. India is not included because they got autonomy 70 years ago.”

“The ODEIB is at the service of black students, to a lesser extent brown students, and to a lesser extent LGBTQ students.”

“It’s about whiteness versus people of color.”

“The DEI framework prioritizes people on the oppressed side of the narrative.”

Hiring Practices at Harvard

One topic which emerged when I spoke to the faculty was the issue of hiring at Harvard, an issue about which the faculty clearly has a lot of consternation.

When I asked why Harvard’s faculty has shifted sharply leftward in recent years, they explained:

“Each department decides whom they want, and the university can accept or reject the candidate. Left-leaning faculty appoint other left-wing faculty because they get to decide whom to hire and promote. It’s a bit like the Twitter algorithm which continues to feed you the points of view you want to hear. Eventually, each department reaches the tipping point.”

One senior member of the faculty shared that it is made abundantly clear that they cannot hire new faculty members unless they meet ODEIB requirements. That is, the candidate has to be a woman, person of color, or have LGBTQ+ status. Straight white males are “off the table.” Asians and those of South Asian (i.e., India) heritage are similarly disadvantaged in the process as they are deemed successful, overachieving minorities.

A number of the faculty bemoaned that in many cases they cannot hire the substantially more qualified person if he is a white or Asian straight male as the proposed candidate “has to be a woman or BIPOC person.” I was told that behind closed doors, it is common to hear: “I clearly don’t think this is the strongest candidate, but we can see where the train is headed. I therefore have no choice but to vote for the [lesser-qualified candidate.]”

It is made clear to the faculty that Harvard’s discriminatory approach to hiring should never be acknowledged or written about in an email. One professor said that he has been continually amazed that no one has brought a lawsuit as these practices are clearly illegal.

One faculty member explained that it is not just the administration that has been putting forth these requirements, but that external organizations like The Chronicle of Higher Education (TCHE) do “investigative reporting” where they do racial and gender audits of university departments. TCHE publicly scolds university departments that don’t meet their diversity requirements further reinforcing Harvard’s requirement for ODEIB-preferred candidates.

On all of the above issues, I know you will not rely on my survey of the faculty. I therefore encourage you to commission a highly credible, third-party firm to do an anonymous survey of the Harvard faculty. I am confident it will confirm and reinforce all that I have outlined above.

Discrimination at Harvard Is Not Limited to Antisemitism

The problems at Harvard are clearly not just about Jews and Israel. It is abundantly clear that straight white males are discriminated against in recruitment and advancement at Harvard. That is also apparently true to a somewhat lesser extent for men who are Asians or of Indian origin. The ODEIB is an important culprit in this discrimination on campus as it sees the world in a framework of oppressors and the oppressed, where the oppressor class includes white males, Asians, Jews and other people perceived to be successful and powerful.

While Harvard claims that it is committed to free expression, in practice free expression appears to only happen “behind closed doors” or among faculty and students speaking anonymously.

Conservative voices are squelched and often outright cancelled on campus. Tyler J. VanderWeele and Carole K. Hooven are two recent examples.

In March of this year, Mr. VanderWeele, the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology, a practicing Catholic, was effectively excommunicated from Harvard (saved only by his tenure) when it was discovered he had signed an amicus brief in 2015 which affirmed his view that the definition of marriage was between a man and a woman, and when he surfaced his pro-life views. See: https://t.co/5DnXLAdfNq

Earlier this year, Ms. Hooven, an evolutionary biologist was cancelled and eventually forced to resign because she stated that one’s sex was biological and binary on Fox and Friends. See: https://t.co/0ipq167Qbm

I am saddened that the Harvard I love has lost its way. I am embarrassed for not having been aware and previously taken the time to investigate these issues until antisemitism exploded on campus. I should have paid more attention as it did not take a forensic analysis to surface and better understand these issues.

Discrimination at Harvard is not just illegal, but it is extremely damaging to our nation’s competitiveness, which is critically important in a world with growing geopolitical conflict and turmoil. Harvard should be an institution for our best and brightest, taught by our best and brightest who are in search of Veritas and excellence. Russia, China, and our other competitor nations are not selecting their scientific and educational leaders using Harvard’s diversity, equity and inclusion metrics.

President Gay, beginning with your testimony to Congress on Tuesday, you can begin to address the antisemitism that has exploded on campus during your presidency, the seeds for which began years before you became President. But as I hope you recognize, the issues at Harvard are much more expansive than antisemitism. Antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine for other discriminatory practices at Harvard.

As President you have both the opportunity and the responsibility for addressing these critically important issues. It won’t be easy for you as I have been told that your recent “pivot on antisemitism” is already making the radical left wing of the faculty highly skeptical of you.

When 34 Harvard student organizations came out in support of Hamas’ barbaric terrorism, it was a wake up call for me. I hope that having to face the Congress on Tuesday will be a wake-up call for you.

Sincerely,

William A. Ackman, A.B. 1988, MBA 1992

Cc: Ms. Penny Pritzker, Chairman,
and The Harvard Corporation Board

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

Important words by @elonmusk.
We will not stop until all hostages are freed and Hamas will surrender.

Hamas is the sole cause of suffering both in Israel and in Gaza.

#FreeGazazFromHamas
#HamasislSIS

[Bill Ackman @BillAckman]

Rabbi Hirschy of @HarvardChabad sent a personal email to @Harvard President Gay on Nov. 28th inviting her to attend the Hamas atrocities documentary and to meet the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations.

President Gay did not respond, but her chief of staff did:

“Dear Hirschy,

Thank you for reaching out. As you may have seen, Claudine has been asked to testify in front of congress next week, so she will be out of town.

Best,

Katie”

I note that the President’s congressional testimony is the day after the December 4th showing of the film, i.e.,Tuesday, December 5th at 10:15am.

I reached out to Pres. Gay an hour or so after her chief of staff’s email, and strongly encouraged her to see the film because, among other reasons, I believe it would be very helpful to her and to Harvard to tell the Congress that she had seen it with her own eyes.

What better way for her to show the seriousness with which she is taking the issues around October 7th and antisemitism?

To make the logistics easier, I offered to fly her and her staff immediately after the viewing to D.C, with dinner on the plane so we could meet and talk. I wanted, among other things, to help prepare her with the likely questions she would receive.

She turned me down.

She was succinct in her email:

“Thank you for the offer. While I appreciate the invitation, I will be out of town at that time.”

I can’t imagine anything more important for the Harvard President to do now than to bear witness to the atrocities before testifying about the Hamas protests and antisemitism on campus.

It may be true that she is ‘out of town’ as I am sure she is flying to DC that day, but it sure sends a bad message to the students, the faculty, and the alumni community about the seriousness with which she is taking the issue of antisemitism on campus.

And it is an insult to the Israeli Ambassador who is flying to Boston just to present the documentary at Harvard.

President Gay’s failed leadership in managing the impact of October 7th on campus in large part explains why antisemitism has exploded at Harvard. And she is also setting a bad example for other universities and institutions.

We are sadly witnessing a grave failure of leadership at Harvard, one of the most important American institutions, at a critical time in its history.

You could say that President Gay has only been on the job since July 1st, but then you might compare how deftly @dartmouth president Sian Beilock has handled the Israel-Palestinian issues on her campus. And she started two weeks before President Gay on June 12, 2023.

I forgot to mention that President Gay never replied or even acknowledged my letter of November 4th https://t.co/g0qSqrgPJ6

Nearly a month has passed since I emailed it to her and the full board.

Crickets…

[Ella Ke @EllaTravelsLove]

@AlanRMacLeod You've just lost a lot of credibility. It is so embarrassing you've posted a false map, that could be debunked in minutes just by a short google search.

Hope you will get your reputation back.

[Ran Harnevo @harnevo]

אתמול בערב הגיעה הודעה בווטסאפ, מקבל מאות כל יום, מכל הארץ, אבל זאת הייתה אחרת. משפחה דרוזית מפקיעין, כווווול הילדים, הבני דודים, הדודים, הסבים, קצינים בצה״ל. יחידות חי��ר, שריון, סיירות, התפקידים הכי נחשבים בחיל האוויר - אהבת ישראל שיוצאת מכל מילה.

ב-18 לנובמבר איבדה המשפחה את רב סרן ג׳מאל עבאס, מפקד פלוגה בגדוד 101 בצנחנים. הוא נפל בקרב ברצועת עזה, רק בן 23.

כמה ימים לפני שנפל שמעה כל המדינה את שיחת הקשר המרגשת בינו לבן אבא שלו, אלוף משנה (במיל׳) ענאן, ואחיו סרן גדעון: ״קודקוד מאחל לך הצלחה רבה , מתגעגע אליך אוהב אותך מחכה שתחזור״.

משפחה דרוזית מפוארת של לוחמי צה״ל, שפשוט לא מצליחה לעכל את העלבון הזה שנקרא חוק הלאום. עד כדי כך לא מצליחה שבהלוויה של ענאן, לפני 10 ימים, עלה סבא שלו גדעון, גם הוא אלוף משנה, ובהספד המרגש שלו התייחס לעלבון של עדה כולה.

שר הפנים משה ארבל הגיע להלוויה. ״לא יכולנו לא להתייחס לזה כשהממשלה בהלוויה של ג׳מאל״, כתבו לי מהמשפחה. ״צילמנו, ערכנו ונשמח אם הסרט יגיע לכל אחד בישראל״.

החברה הדרוזית היא חלק בלתי נפרד מאיתנו. היום ישתחררו שני חטופים בדואים, חלק מבני משפחתם יישארו בשבי בעזה. יהודית דמוקרטית עם שוויון זכויות מלא לכל אזרחיה.

חברה חפצת חיים, כזו שרוצה לבנות פה ארץ חדשה, חייבת לתקן את העוולות הנוראיות שחוקקו פה ממשלות לאומניות מלאות רהב, מילים ריקות ואפס עשייה.

גדעון עבאס, על קבר נכדו ג׳מאל.
יהי זכרו ברוך.

(צילם וערך: אמיל סוויד)