John Harvard statue vandalized with fake blood as part of ‘Palestinian resistance,’ post claims

The incident happened only hours after the Oct. 7 anniversary of the attacks on Israel by Hamas.

In the early morning hours on Tuesday, a group of unidentified people drizzled fake blood on the John Harvard statue in Harvard Yard and smashed windows at University Hall, in a a chaotic scene captured on social media video.

At the bottom of the since-removed Instagram post was written, “Bring the war home.”

The video was posted anonymously by “Unity of Fields,” a far-left organization that engages in or promotes protests and defacement of private property they deem to be supportive of Israel or “Zionism,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The caption accompanying the video states that “autonomous actors” acted in “solidarity with the Palestine resistance.” The organization wrote that is committed to “answering the call to open up a new front here in the belly of the beast.”

The Harvard Police are investigating the incident. Public information officer Steven Catalano declined to comment further, noting, “It is the longstanding policy of Harvard University Police Department not to comment on open investigations.”

The act of vandalism happened only hours after Jewish groups across Boston marked the Oct. 7 anniversary of attacks on Israel by Hamas.

After the subsequent military response from Israel last year, protests erupted on college campuses in Boston, leading to thousands of arrests. However, studies have shown an increase in antisemitism since the attack. The Anti-Defamation League recorded 440 antisemitic incidents in the state last year, up from 152 from a year before.

The vandalism at Harvard followed a statement on Instagram by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee on Monday calling for renewed campus activism.

According to the Harvard Crimson, the organization wrote in an Instagram post on Monday, which is no longer up, “Now is the time to escalate.”

“Harvard continues to defend its investments in this genocidal regime despite repeated student and faculty demands for disclosure and divestment,” they wrote, according to the Crimson. “Harvard’s insistence on funding slaughter only strengthens our moral imperative and commitment to our demands.”

The newly appointed Harvard President Alan Garber criticized the statement in a report by the Harvard Crimson, calling it “offensive.”

His response came after the committee posted another statement on Tuesday that said, “One year ago today, Gaza broke through Israel’s blockade, showing the world that the ongoing Nakba and apartheid cannot stand.”

According to the United Nations, Nakba translates to “catastrophe” in Arabic. The term refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The incident at Harvard also follows the National Students for Justice in Palestine call for a “Week of Rage” from Oct. 7 to 11.

The organization, which is calling for the end of what it calls the colonization of Palestine, is holding the event not only during the anniversary of the attacks but during the holiest week of the year for Jews, with Yom Kippur beginning on Oct. 11.

Harvard University and Harvard Hillel also did not respond.

The Anti-Defamation League of New England released a statement on X that said vandalism at Harvard amidst other calls to “escalate” anti-Israel protests and “open up a new front” at Harvard is a “disturbing combination on any day but especially on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel.”

The organization continued, “Harvard must hold those responsible for this destruction accountable.”

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.