Law Firm Rescinds Harvard, Columbia Students' Job Offers: Reports

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Davis Polk, a top law firm based in New York, has rescinded job offers to three students from Harvard and Columbia Universities who were leaders of student groups that issued statements blaming Israel for the Hamas attack on Gaza, according to an internal email from the firm obtained by multiple outlets.

Two of the students were leaders of Palestine Solidarity Groups at Columbia University—which signed a controversial letter that claimed Israel's 'oppression bred resistance'—while the other student was affiliated with the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups, according to The New York Times.

The Columbia group's letter claimed, in part, that in the wake of Israel's past invasion of Palestinian territory, "we should not be surprised when resistance and violence break out."

"These statements are simply contrary to our firm’s values and we thus concluded that rescinding these offers was appropriate in upholding our responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive work environment for all Davis Polk employees," the internal email, signed by Neil Barr, said, according to NBC News.

The firm told The New York Times Tuesday that it is considering putting two of the students' job offers back on the table after the students claimed that they "did not authorize the letters," the outlet reported. Patch reached out to the firm Wednesday for an update.

The controversy at Harvard and Columbia is part of a series of similar ones taking place across the country since the Israel-Hamas conflict began Oct. 7.

A petition started by a Yale University student Oct. 10 that calls for the removal of a professor who apparently shared a tweet calling Israel "a murderous, genocidal settler state" has received more than 52,500 signatures to date.

Around the same time, a New York University law student who also serves as president of the Student Bar Association lost a job offer from a law firm after sending out a newsletter saying Israel "bears full responsibility" for the Hamas attack.

Hamas, which has ruled the Palestinian Gaza Strip since 2007, launched an attack inside Israel earlier this month, killing hundreds and taking others hostage while seizing settlements. Its unprecedented breach of the border sent fighters inside border communities and military installations, shocked Israel and its allies, and raised questions about the group's capabilities and strategy.

The U.S. State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.