Who is Ibrahim Bharmal? Harvard graduate assaults Israeli student on campus

During a “die in” protest at Harvard Business School, a first-year Israeli student was forcefully confronted and pushed by protesters who were condemning Israel’s retaliatory actions against Hamas. The incident was captured on video, with the student repeatedly pleading for them not to touch him and stating that he lives there. As he tried to film the protesters with his phone, he described being pushed and shoved.

An anonymous report was filed with the FBI, identifying two of the individuals involved as Harvard University graduate students.

Who is Ibrahim Bharmal?

One was a law student named Ibrahim Bharmal, who is a member of the Harvard Law Review, and the other was a graduate student from the divinity school named Elom Tettey Tamaklo, who served as a proctor for Harvard undergraduate students. Both Bharmal and Tamaklo did not respond to requests for comment.

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The incident was reported to the Harvard University Police Department, and it is unclear how Harvard plans to address the situation. Neither the executive director of Harvard’s MBA program, Jana Kierstead, nor Harvard University president Claudine Gay responded to requests for comment.

This incident is the latest in a series of conflicts at Harvard since the terrorist activities of Hamas and increasing hostility toward Jews on campus. Some donors, including Seth Klarman, have voiced concerns about the university’s stance on these issues. Harvard president Claudine Gay’s statements, which did not condemn the views of certain student groups, have also sparked criticism from former college administrators like Larry Summers and led to some donors severing ties with the school.

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Jewish students and administrators are expressing worry about Harvard’s perceived leniency in responding to expressions of hostility toward Israel and the Jewish community. Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, the founder and president of Harvard’s Chabad, raised concerns about the university’s approach, comparing it to actions taken against single-gender Final Clubs in the past while allowing student organizations with controversial views to maintain their Harvard affiliation.