Gustavo Espada is a member of the Harvard staff, the financial and systems coordinator for the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. He recently challenged a Jewish Harvard student, Shabbos Kestenbaum, to a debate. Kestenbaum is one of several students who are now suing the school for its failure to act decisively against antisemitism. On Jan. 26, Espada sent an email to Kestenbaum, inviting him to debate Espada on what the latter claims is “Israel’s role in 9/11.” We all know that dreary conspiracy theory — “no Jews showed up at the Twin Towers for work that day” and “the Mossad blew up the Twin Towers to make Muslims look bad.” More on this staff member can be found here: “Harvard Employee Harasses Jewish Student Suing School For Anti-Semitism, Asks To Debate 9/11 Conspiracies,” Daily Wire, January 26, 2024:
A Harvard University employee challenged a Jewish student who is currently suing the Ivy league school over antisemitism to a debate on Israel’s role in 9/11, according to a copy of the harassing email obtained by The Daily Wire.
“I invite you to debate me today at the Cambridge Street overpass 12-1, don’t miss it!” Gustavo Espada, an active university employee, wrote in a Thursday email to Shabbos Kestenbaum, the student. “If you don’t show up I will use a puppet or potted plant to represent you!”
Mr. Kestenbaum did not show up. It is not known if, in his place, Espada did as he threatened, and debated instead a ventriloquist puppet or a noticeably silent potted plant.
Espada sent the email from his official Harvard account with the subject line, “invitation to debate Israeli role in 9/11.” He also offered to plan a “more formal” debate in a “large venue” on campus.
“PS stop saying I hate Jews unless that is something you want,” Espada added in the email. “I hate Israel and Zionism with a passion and you know full well they are two different things.”
Kestenbaum, along with other students, filed a lawsuit against the Ivy League earlier this month, accusing it of selectively enforcing its policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment and enabling anti-Semitism.
“It would stand to reason that someone this hateful would have attended, and continue to work, at Harvard,” Kestenbaum, who notified the Cambridge Police Department of Espada’s actions, told The Daily Wire. “Harvard, to this day, has yet to introduce or enforce a concrete plan of action pertaining to their dismantling of antisemitism on campus.”
“The time for task forces, statements, and apologies are over,” he added. “I want action and I want it yesterday.”
Espada also referenced posters of Israeli hostages that were defaced earlier this week with 9/11 conspiracies, which Kestebaum documented on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account…
By using his Harvard email account to challenge Kestenbaum to a debate on Israel’s “role” in the 9/11 attack,” Espada is implicating his employer in his noxious and, many will agree, demented views. Should that be the end of the matter? At the very least, he ought to be reprimanded for using his official Harvard account for non-university business, especially given his email’s rebarbative content. But ought he to remain on the staff of the university, especially now, when Harvard is so alarmed about the current congressional investigation into its failure to deal adequately with antisemitism? Espada claims not to be an antisemite, though he proudly says that “I hate Israel and Zionism with a passion.” But the crazed claim that “the Zionist entity” was behind the 9/11 attack is the kind of fantastical thing that only an antisemite would believe. Is Gustavo Espada, in making his views so public on social media, not bringing the university into disrepute?
Imagine how quickly an employee of the Harvard staff would be discharged if he had made public his ardent support of the KKK. Why should Espada be treated with kid gloves when the object of his venom is Israel and the Jews who defend it?
Donovan Nuera says
Tim Murphy, the recently-retired Harvard Football Coach (and the winningest one in school and Ivy League History after 30 years at Harvard) would make the BEST PRESIDENT for HARVARD; a proven winner, good motivator, non-political, encourages good work ethic and expects the players /students to overcome adversity.
Donovan Nuera says
Espada needs to be fired yesterday. What a kook. I wonder what his hidden convert jihad name is?????
libertyORdeath says
Man, the Jew-haters sure have gotten a lot of mileage out of the ONE video of Hassids dancing on 9/11. And some really tenuous links to Mossad.
But they sure LOVE to ignore the MOUNTAINS of evidence that it was actually Saudi Arabia behind the Al-Qaeda operation on 9/11.
I think the biggest problem is that most of these ZOOMERS weren’t even alive on 9/11. They have NO idea what happened beyond old TV clips and internet articles.
This is why the jew-hating “conservatives” and groups like the groypers get off track. They act EXACTLY like BLM or some other leftist minority group by blaming ALL of their problems on some cabal holding them down.
For BLM it’s white people. For the groypers and other Jew-haters, it’s the Jews.
How WEAK is it to claim that a TINY group of people are keeping your entire race back? How CHILDISH is it to take ZERO responsibility for your own actions?
Start adding in things like the higher average IQ for Ashkenazi Jews and their success compared to their numbers, and it starts to look EXACTLY like a Critical Race Theory BLM-type group that thrives on ENVY and hatred based on absurd conspiracy theories.
Start reading some REAL news and get your heads out of the 1913 Jewish Encyclopedia!
https://open.substack.com/pub/johnfromjamestowne/p/the-leftright-debate-is-a-globalist?r=288rw5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
CM 732 says
Susan Rosenberg raises money for blm. She is the convicted US Capital bomber pardoned by pedo island visitor Bill Clinton.
libertyORdeath says
Btw, I say DEBATE him!
Why not?
Free speech will set us free.
carpediadem says
These sorts of challenges are not good faith debates – they are rigged hate exercises.
Westman says
It’s effectively harassment to defuse the lawsuit. Add his name to the lawsuit and push on.
James Lincoln says
The United States government needs to stop all funding of Hamas (previously known as Harvard) University.