, HRW said Israeli policies toward the Palestinians amounted to apartheid. Israel vehemently denies the label and comparisons to apartheid-era South Africa.
The director of the Carr Center, Mathias Risse, called the decision a “profoundly sad moment” for him personally. “I have seen no credible evidence whatsoever that HRW or Ken Roth are biased against Israel. I consider this misinformation, and for people who know better, actual disinformation,” she added.
PEN America also criticized the move, saying that withholding the fellowship over Roth's “staunch critiques of human rights abuses by governments worldwide raises serious questions about the credibility of the Harvard program itself.”Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, a group that reports on alleged anti-Israel bias by international NGOs, welcomed the university’s decision, saying Roth is an “anti-Israel activist far beyond what is called legitimate criticism.