Harvard's "Shot Heard Round the World"

After an antisemitic attack in Pennsylvania nearly triggered martial law, Harvard fires the shot that could save democracy and now finds itself as the de facto leader of the free world.

Harvard Coop

Think of what almost happened this week and what it could have meant for democracy. And then think about what did happen and what it could mean for our democracy.

On the first night of Passover, the night when, in ancient Egypt, the Angel of Death passed over the homes of the Hebrews, one destroyer made it through to the dining room of a Jewish family in Pennsylvania. There was no Iron Dome to prevent the arsonist from breaking into the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg and he set fire to the very chamber where the Seder had taken place just hours before.

Thankfully, Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were not harmed. But the fact that something horrific didn’t become something cataclysmic is still not an excuse for the relatively ho-hum way this has been covered by the national media. This act of clear-cut antisemitism was a very big deal. It was evidently perpetrated by someone with a deep animus toward Israel and Jews, a hatred that has been swirling on all sides of the political spectrum and has been exacerbated by events that have taken place on many college campuses, including and especially, Harvard.¹

• Some reminders: I remain as always a staunch defender of free speech on campus and a more-than-occasional critic of Israeli treatment of innocent Palestinians. I want there to be two states and still think that’s possible. At the same time I believe Hamas has relinquished its right to represent other Palestinians and to exist as a military or political entity. And now, even Egypt is calling on Hamas to relinquish its arms, and most Palestinians are sick of them with many openly protesting against them. And I also believe the post October 7 campus protests, which often denied the legitimacy of a Jewish state, crossed the line to antisemitism - and university leaders, including those at Harvard, did an abysmal job of protecting Jewish students from intimidation and physical harm. Now, I continue…

The attack on Shapiro and all Pennsylvanians did happen. But what would have happened had there been fatalities, most especially the governor himself, who, according to reports, the perpetrator desired to attack with a hammer? That would have tested the soul of America more than almost anything we’ve ever seen, even in these tumultuous Trump years.

And of course, Trump would have failed that test.

I believe we were that close to seeing martial law declared (however the administration chooses to spell it). There has been a good amount of social media chatter about Trump seeking a pretext to apply the Insurrection Act and use a manufactured “state of emergency” to consolidate dictatorial power; much as the Reichstag Fire, which happened only a short time following Hitler’s election, assisted Hitler to eliminate opposition as he rapidly consolidated power. ²

Well, the murder or maiming of a governor would have served that purpose perfectly. That would have been Trump’s Reichstag moment. Ironically, one of the laws passed in the immediate aftermath of the Reichstag conflagration enabled the Nazi government to overrule state and local governments. Trump has been obsessed with subjugating the blue states lately. How ironic it would have been for the attack on a state governor to provide the excuse to eliminate one of the few checks left on Trump’s power.

I’m making no claims of any vast conspiracy regarding the Harrisburg arson. To be clear, I don’t believe the Trump administration was involved - but I wouldn’t put it beyond this administration to look for any opportunity to seize even more power.

Democracy dodged a bullet last Saturday night. At the very least, it would have been a dress rehearsal for martial law. We already know that Trump sees no barrier to deporting American citizens. It’s only a matter of when he will order his military to take aim - and not to even bother waiting to see the whites of their eyes.

But at the same time that an act of antisemitism caused a fire in Pennsylvania, up the road in Massachusetts, Harvard fired a Shot Heard Round the World, partly resulting from acts of antisemitism.

Why does it always come back to that???

Harvard stood up to the bully, and by doing that, they have lit a fire under less well-endowed institutions - law firms, colleges, whistleblowers, civil servants, veterans, businesses, countries, Democrats - just about everyone is less well-endowed than Harvard, what with its 50 billion dollar endowment. This is going to be a titanic battle, and the world needs for Harvard to win. As Jonathan Gellman, one of my Substack subscribers, commented, “Harvard may be an "elite" university, but if its fight for academic freedom succeeds, many of its competitors and smaller colleges will benefit.”

To which I responded, “Good point about Harvard. Rather than isolating itself as the crème de la crème, the university is in fact standing up for the little guy. When is the last time Donald Trump ever did that?”

In fact, when is the last time Harvard ever did that? Andy Borowitz was not far off when he quipped on his humor Substack this morning:

“Donald J. Trump may not have built a wall with Mexico or annexed Canada. But he has done something far more monumental: made Americans like Harvard.”

Harvard has become the defender of the meek. The very symbol of the one percent has become the last best hope of the other ninety-nine. Harvard - THAT Harvard, has stood up to the bully, and one senses that they know they can win this. So many targeted groups and individuals are finding themselves, right now, in various renderings of that El Salvador concentration camp - a feeling depicted best by this gut-churning but oh-so-perfect cartoon by Jouquette.

In Trump’s world of selektion, there are those chosen to be taken to court and those chosen - er, selekted - to be taken - er, disappeared - to El Salvador. In his world of winners and losers, all losers are essentially the same, whether they wear blue or white collars, or carry toolboxes or iPads. Whether they are awaiting experimental drugs that give them a chance of surviving cancer; or whether they are like my brother Mark, who Elon Musk and his clueless ilk would cruelly call “retarded,” who rely on Medicaid and Social Security to survive.

Harvard is the ultimate winner that Trump needs to bring down in order to lord himself over all the “losers” in his world, the ones in wheelchairs, the ones who actually fought in wars, the ones who get pummeled by life again and again, but who rise up every morning to face unbearable obstacles with a courage that can’t be passed down like a silver spoon.

Social media has been awash in cheers for Harvard’s move and Trump’s overreach. I loved this X posting in particular:³

Here are some of those insane demands:

The New York Times reported that Harvard was prepared to roll their response out. They were lying in wait. They really had no choice. As the Times reports:

Harvard has extraordinary financial and political firepower for a clash with Washington. And the university’s leaders watched Columbia University reel, as the Trump administration made more demands, even after the school capitulated.

We’ve seen it time and time again. Whenever someone grovels to Trump hat in hand, they may gain a temporary reprieve, but he has no respect for weakness. Columbia is learning that first-hand. Law firms and broadcasters are being allowed to wallow in their shame while he revels in it. He looks for new and creative ways to humiliate them. See today’s headline:

Even Israel, which Trump has made his cause célèbre in his war on universities, is being subjected to repeated humiliation from their “savior.” Ask Bibi how he felt when he came to Washington hat in hand and found out that Trump is talking to both Hamas and Iran directly, something not even Obama would have done.⁴ And today we learned - in what seems an intentional administration leak - that Bibi’s proposed attack on Iranian nukes was rebuffed by Daddy. I almost felt badly for Netanyahu. Almost. If Trump is no longer in his corner, he’s got nothing.

So we must understand that Harvard is not just fighting for the glory of Harvard here, or for the Ivies or even all universities. It’s fighting on behalf of the entire world, everyone now being bullied by the Bully-in-Chief.

In 1930s Germany there was no independent institution with the international panache, the history and clout of Harvard. Really it’s hard to compare it to anything else. Trump is trying to kick Harvard in the groin, but he’ll soon find that Harvard’s groin is too big to fail.

But in order to ensure victory, Harvard needs to go on the offensive. And that means taking initiatives that can disarm its critics and position itself favorably in the courts.

Which brings me back to antisemitism.

Harvard’s initial response to Trump was carefully crafted and not defensive, while still putting the fight against antisemitism at center stage and taking seriously the accusations that have been made against it - some of which are quite valid - and the need to counter all manner of hate on campus and beyond.

Now with all its money and clout, and with the world looking for someone - anyone - to take the lead in turning the tables on our tyrant king, Harvard, which sits within spitting distance of Paul Revere’s path and a short jog from Lexington and Concord, can fire the next Shot Heard Round the World, 250 years to the week after the first one.

Sure, this thing will end up in court, and Harvard will probably win, but that will take too long. The university, in conjunction with other leading universities and other - corporations, law firms, unions, media - needs to begin rebuilding America from outside the Beltway.

I’m not talking about a shadow government, but a concerted, coordinated information campaign that can help the independent and some corporate media to counter the constant barrage of lies coming from the White House. I’m also not suggesting that any university sacrifice its commitment to the truth and to airing a diversity of views. In fact, that’s all I’m asking for: a commitment to truth and a diversity of perspectives.

Regarding antisemitism, Harvard admitted it was part of the problem and now must become a more active part of the solution. By pouring resources into that specific area, they will both diffuse the administration’s main pretext for shutting them down and show how they are putting their funding to good use.

I would love to see Harvard become a model for real, truly balanced dialogue regarding the Middle East, but frankly the situation in Israel, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and environs is such a complex, moving target that I don’t think any campus could adequately address it right now. But there still could be better interfaith dialogue, more exploration of conflicting narratives and prejudices, and a redoubled effort to diffuse campus tensions before they occur - and then to work with many other schools to nationalize that project.

I may be pipe-dreaming, but so were the farmers of Lexington and Concord, 250 years ago. They had no idea what kind of world they would be waking up to on April 20. Neither do we.

The attack on Governor Shapiro and the people of Pennsylvania brings more urgency to this matter than ever before.

While the battle of Harvard Yard will be decided in the courts, it’s the court of public opinion that will matter more, and more quickly. Harvard needs to be what it is - a center of independent thought - but it also needs to spearhead a resistance to tyranny and a spirited defense of truth. For that, after all, is what this great center of learning stands for: Veritas.

Harvard needs to take seriously its newfound position as the de facto leader of the free world.

1. Just this week, after the PA arson, “Death to Israel” graffiti was discovered at Northwestern. Some more provocations from Hamas’s (or Putin’s) Useful Idiots, just as Trump is using acts like these in his effort to bring down academia.

2. From the US Holocaust Museum:

3. Here’s rest of the thread:

4. From Nadav Tamir, in an op-ed in Times of Israel:

Netanyahu’s decision to remain silent in the face of the public humiliation he suffered at the hands of President Trump was the only reason his visit to the White House did not develop into a shouting match, unlike the visit of Ukrainian President Zelensky. As someone who has spent decades working to thwart any diplomatic dialogue with Iran, Netanyahu was confronted in the Oval Office with a fait accompli in the form of the opening of talks between the United States and Iran and was required to nod in forced agreement.