Billionaire Bill Ackman pledges not to hire ‘pro-Hamas’ Harvard students

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has asked Harvard to release the names of their 30 students who signed a letter which blamed Israel solely for the terror attacks by Hamas that took place over the weekend.

Pershing Square Capital Management’s CEO Ackman, who completed both his bachelor's and MBA from Harvard, appealed to the university to release the names of the students so that they are not hired by him and other executives in the future.

"I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas’ heinous acts to Israel, so as to ensure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members," wrote Ackman in a post on X on Tuesday (Oct 10).

Add WION as a Preferred Source

ALSO READ |Egypt intelligence official claims Israel ignored its warning on Hamas attack

"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," the CEO added

"One should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists, who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other inconceivably despicable acts,” he said.

Other executives echo similar sentiments

Meanwhile, similar sentiments were echoed by other executives in the replies to Ackman’s post, which remained pinned at the top of his account on X on Tuesday afternoon.

The post included a copy of the letter along with the Harvard groups that had signed on it.

"I would like to know so I know never to hire these people," wrote Jonathan Neman, CEO and co-founder of Sweetgreen, in response to a post from Ackman.

"Same," wrote David Duel, CEO of EasyHealth, replying to Neman's post.

WATCH |Survivors narrate terror unleashed by Hamas; WION speaks to victim's family

Although the website of the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee states that it is "dedicated to supporting the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, justice, and equality through raising awareness, advocacy, and non-violent resistance," the letter neither condemns the violence of terror attacks of Hamas nor mentions any expression of remorse for the killing of scores of civilians.

After the letter landed in controversy, the groups which had signed on the circulated version removed the names of their groups from the letter.

A version of the letter published on Google Docs stated, "This statement was co-authored by a coalition of Palestine solidarity groups at Harvard. For student safety, the names of all original signing organizations have been concealed at this time."

You cannow write for wionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE