A 'doxxing truck' sparks anger, tears in Harvard Square

In the fall, Harvard Square is host to students, tourists and thousands of drivers passing through the streets surrounding Harvard Yard.

But this week, as violence unfolds in Israel and the Gaza Strip, the neighborhood has an unwelcome new visitor: a box truck with mounted LED screens.

The truck — rented by Accuracy in Media, a longtime conservative activist group — shows the names and faces of students who are members of campus organizations that signed a letter holding the Israeli government "entirely responsible for all unfolding violence" following Hamas's attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The signs label them "Harvard's leading anti-Semites."

Adam Guillette is president of Accuracy in Media and a longtime conservative activist. As he accompanied the truck, he defended the provocation, saying the signs depicted "leaders of student organizations that signed a message blaming Israel entirely for what happened over the weekend … That's morally reprehensible.”

The students' pro-Palestinian statement prompted an outcry on campus. Economics professor Jason Furman called it "egregious." Larry Summers, Harvard’s former president, tweeted he was “sickened” by its rhetoric, which attributed the outbreak of violence to Israel’s “apartheid regime.”

Hours later, both Furman and Summers warned against retribution or "doxxing" of individual signatories. And others on social media noted that the editorial board of Haaretz, Israel's paper of record, had made a similar argument.

The school community has not welcomed Guillette this week: he and the truck were surrounded by hostile students for much of Thursday, as it moved around the neighborhood, idling on various corners for 20 to 45 minutes.

Junior Yirenny Cordero argued that the truck makes an unjust, and unsubtle, statement in a complicated debate.

“When you put these people's pictures, and you say, 'This is the violent cause that they support,' you cause fear, right? And you also cause motivation for retaliation," Cordero said.

Cordero also noted that the truck's photographs seemed to show almost exclusively students of color, many of whom are Muslim.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, Guillette was confronted by Harvard senior Jeremy Ornstein.

Ornstein is a member of Harvard Hillel, a Jewish group on campus, that has condemned both the anti-Israel statement and Guillette’s truck, saying that accountability should not “extend to public intimidation of individuals.”

“I wish you could come back with a more constructive message, because this is dividing us in a terrible way," a tearful Ornstein said. "And it's bringing so much pain. And the Harvard Hillel, the Jews of Harvard, asked you to leave. But you're still here!"

But Guillette replied that Harvard Hillel "probably don't speak for all Jews," and that there was "not a chance" of him leaving despite their disapproval.

Ornstein said the truck has contributed to an environment in which pro-Palestinian friends "are terrified — because they get all sorts of hate mail and threats."

As a Jew who loves Israel, Ornstein said he knows there is healing work and education to be done on campus.

"I want us to have a deep, long conversation about this, acknowledging anti-Semitism, acknowledging anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian sentiment," Ornstein said.

Guillette, he added, "is not helping."