Harvard Keynoter: The People Calling Me Anti-Semitic Just Want 'Money and Power'

"Because I accepted your invitation to be here today, I was attacked online and called anti-Semitic by money and power because they want money and power," she told Harvard graduates during the May 23 ceremony.

[Maria] Ressa’s reference was to critics, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), who had accused her of anti-Semitism following a Washington Free Beacon report on an editorial published by the Rappler in November 2023 that likened Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza to Hitler’s persecution of the Jews during World War II.

Ressa’s remarks from the dais, which echoed anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish wealth and influence, led Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, who was seated on stage for commencement proceedings, to walk off the stage, according to the Harvard Crimson.