Harvard University is facing heat for the board’s decision to back President Claudine Gay after her explosive Congressional testimony about antisemitism, as critics warned that keeping Gay will “greenlight more Jew-hatred on campus.”

The Harvard Corporation on Tuesday announced that Gay will remain in her role following calls for her to either quit or be fired since her Capitol Hill testimony last week. She has also faced plagiarism allegations.

During last week’s controversial Congressional hearing in front of a Republican-led House committee, Gay refused to characterize calls for the genocide of Jews as a breach of Harvard’s code of conduct. There has been a reported spike in antisemitism following the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. Jewish and Israeli students have been threatened and assaulted on campuses.

Harvard alums have been calling on Gay to resign, including Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who several times during the hearing asked Gay whether student protesters calling for the genocide of Jews is allowed on campus.

“This is a moral failure of Harvard’s leadership and higher education leadership at the highest levels,” Stefanik said at a Tuesday press conference after the Harvard board announcement.

“And the only change they have made to their code of conduct, where they failed to condemn calls for genocide of the Jewish people, the only update to the code of conduct is to allow a plagiarist as the president of Harvard,” she added.

The organization StopAntisemitism blasted the Harvard board, saying the Corporation failed to hold Gay accountable.

“The Corporation’s decision serves only to greenlight more Jew-hatred on campus,” the group said. “StopAntisemitism continues to call for President Gay’s resignation and urges the Corporation to reconsider its decision and hire someone who is committed to protecting every Harvard student.”

When Harvard made the announcement on Tuesday, the university limited replies on social media.

The Harvard Corporation: “In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay.” https://t.co/stSvH4t1BP

— Harvard University (@Harvard) December 12, 2023

The members of the Harvard Corporation said they were reaffirming their support for Gay’s continued leadership of the university “in this tumultuous and difficult time.”

“Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing,” the Harvard Corporation said in a statement.

“So many people have suffered tremendous damage and pain because of Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, and the University’s initial statement should have been an immediate, direct, and unequivocal condemnation,” the board added. “Calls for genocide are despicable and contrary to fundamental human values. President Gay has apologized for how she handled her congressional testimony and has committed to redoubling the University’s fight against antisemitism.”

The board also addressed Gay’s academic writings. The university reportedly became aware in late October of plagiarism allegations regarding three articles.

“At President Gay’s request, the Fellows promptly initiated an independent review by distinguished political scientists and conducted a review of her published work,” the board wrote. “On December 9, the Fellows reviewed the results, which revealed a few instances of inadequate citation.

“While the analysis found no violation of Harvard’s standards for research misconduct, President Gay is proactively requesting four corrections in two articles to insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications,” the board added.

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Four trucks with mobile billboards showing Gay’s face were on the Cambridge campus Tuesday, saying it’s time for her to resign.

Accuracy In Media is responsible for the trucks and billboards — the same organization that had trucks showing Harvard students’ faces and names after groups signed a letter that blamed Israel for the terrorist attacks.

“@Harvard’s board won’t hold Claudine Gay accountable, so we will,” Accuracy In Media posted. “We’re back at Harvard with four mobile billboards this week because antisemitism has no place in America, especially not at so-called ‘elite’ universities.”

Barstool Sports is now selling a shirt with a clown nose on Gay’s face. Barstool’s Dave Portnoy has vowed that he will never hire another Harvard graduate following her Congressional testimony.

Five former Harvard presidents — Lawrence S. Bacow, Derek Bok, Drew Gilpin Faust, Neil L. Rudenstine, and Lawrence H. Summers — on Tuesday backed Gay.

“As former Presidents of Harvard University, we offer our strong support for Claudine Gay as she leads Harvard into the future,” they said in a joint statement. “We look forward to supporting President Gay in whatever ways we can as Harvard faces this challenging moment for higher education and the wider world.”