Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman / Facebook
Bill Ackman, a graduate of both Harvard College and the Harvard Business School (MBA), is furious with his alma mater over the 35 different student groups at the university that released statements condemning Israel and blaming it for the barbaric attacks by the terrorist organization Hamas over the weekend. As such, Ackman joins other luminaries such as former Harvard President Lawrence Summers, but went even further with a demand that the names of all of the students supporting these groups be released by the school.
This is so that prospective employers can know who exactly supports the burning of innocent people alive, the rapes and murders of innocent women, the wiping out of entire families in their homes, the murder of babies, and other unspeakable acts so as not to hire such people.
Bill Ackman said he has been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard 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.”
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And he said that the names of the signatories should be made public so their views are publicly known.
“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,” said Ackman.
Saying he was offering “some advice for students,” Bill Ackman wrote:
“If an organization of which you are a member puts out a public statement you disagree with, you have a few choices,” he added.
These include remaining silent, which he said means having “the entire world conclude that you stand by the statement. “
“Or people can try and convince the other members of the group to withdraw or otherwise modify the statement so that it can reflect the views of all members, or one can resign in protest.”
“Claiming that you had no involvement or knowledge of the statement, but remaining a member of the organization without it withdrawing the statement is perhaps the worst of the alternatives, as it appears to simply be an attempt to avoid accountability while continuing to be a member of the organization,” added a clearly angry Bill Ackman.
Bill Ackman went on to ask people in business, “If you were managing a business, would you hire someone who blamed the despicable violent acts of a terrorist group on the victims?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Would you hire someone who was a member of a school club who issued a statement blaming lynchings by the KKK on their victims?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Would you want them to be an associate at your law firm?”
“Of course not.”
Bill Ackman went on to state that this is not about freedom of speech or rejecting someone based on opinions, but it is about understanding the character of the candidates that you are considering for employment. He said that a CEO, in fact, has an “obligation to do so on behalf of all of the other employees in your company, the clients and customers it serves, and all of your other stakeholders.”
“I have heard that the above inquiry has made some members of the groups which put out the statement feel ‘unsafe,’ a word that is sadly overused in universities today,” added Bill Ackman.
“Ask yourself how unsafe it would feel in Israel beginning Saturday early morning and how unsafe it feels now?” he said. “Ask yourself how unsafe your Jewish classmates feel when 32 clubs published a statement assigning sole responsibility for the heinous, deathly acts of terrorists to Israel and the Jews?”
“Experience is making mistakes and learning from them. If you have made a mistake, acknowledge it, and immediately correct your mistaken actions,” declared Bill Ackman.
Public statements made by organizations of which you are a member can have a material negative impact on your reputation.
I have learned from experience that the best time to fix a mistake is now.
