Dr. Lara Jirmanus, a Lebanese-Palestinian medical professional affiliated with Harvard University, has emerged as one of the most aggressive and vocal pro Hamas activists within the institution’s faculty ranks. Using her credentials in healthcare and her position as a Harvard-affiliated academic, Jirmanus has led a sustained campaign to frame Israel as a genocidal state, minimize terrorism, and push Harvard toward a political alignment with extremist causes.
By injecting radical political ideology into public health discourse, campus organizing, and institutional criticism, Jirmanus has played a central role in normalizing antisemitic hostility and delegitimizing academic neutrality. Her rhetoric and activism have fueled campus unrest, empowered encampment-style protest movements, and undermined efforts to protect Jewish students and faculty from targeted harassment.
Founding Harvard’s Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP)
Jirmanus was instrumental in establishing FSJP, the hub of faculty-driven pro Hamas agitation on campus. From its founding letter to its ongoing disruption efforts, FSJP has blurred the line between political advocacy and institutional incitement—often under her leadership.
- January 2024: Signed the founding FSJP letter, launching the Harvard chapter that would later support illegal encampments and call for severing all university ties to Israel.
- Endorsed FSJP’s language accusing Harvard of complicity in genocide and apartheid, laying the groundwork for months of campus polarization.
- Supported a broader faculty coalition letter demanding full institutional divestment from companies connected to Israel or U.S. military operations.
Rather than promoting thoughtful debate, Jirmanus helped create a faculty group that treats accusations of genocide as routine rhetoric—and shields antisemitic protests from accountability.
Accusing Harvard of “Genocide Profiteering”
Throughout 2024, Jirmanus escalated her campaign by directing attacks at her own university, framing Harvard’s financial practices as morally equivalent to war crimes. These statements, made in public forums and repeated in media, undermine institutional trust and stoke division among students.
- April–May 2024: Repeatedly accused Harvard of investing in genocide, urging total divestment from all companies linked to Israel, regardless of context.
- Publicly declared that Harvard is “profiting from mass murder,” framing the university’s financial decisions as evidence of systemic violence.
- Supported encampment demands that accused Harvard of complicity in war crimes—while refusing to acknowledge the role of Hamas in the conflict.
Jirmanus’s narrative does not simply critique policy—it indicts the institution as a co-conspirator in genocide.
Promoting the ‘Palestine Exception’ Conspiracy
In a series of published articles and interviews, Jirmanus has framed any institutional response to protest activity or security threats as part of a deliberate campaign to silence pro-Palestinian voices. This strategy distorts disciplinary policy and recasts university governance as oppression.
- Co-authored multiple articles, including “Harvard’s Punitive ‘Palestine Exception’” and “To Repair Trust, Harvard Must End the Palestine Exception and Let Seniors Graduate.”
- Accused the university of targeting Palestinian advocates with retaliation—while ignoring threats, harassment, and violence faced by Jewish students during the same time period.
- Weaponized academic freedom to shield political extremism from consequences.
This narrative reframes accountability as censorship and turns antisemitic provocation into protected speech.
Endorsing and Supporting Campus Encampments
Jirmanus did not merely support student protest—she openly endorsed and appeared at the illegal encampments that disrupted Harvard’s operations, violated university policy, and contributed to a hostile environment for Jewish students.
- May 2024: Publicly supported the encampment protest, praising the participants and amplifying their demands on social media.
- Participated in rallies and on-campus organizing efforts that sought to pressure Harvard through intimidation and disruption.
- Never condemned antisemitic slogans or threats linked to protest activity.
By supporting these protests uncritically, Jirmanus gave faculty backing to actions that directly threatened campus order and student safety.
Using Medical Authority to Justify Political Extremism
Jirmanus has repeatedly blurred the line between medicine and ideology—using healthcare credentials to accuse Israel of genocide and elevate radical talking points as if they were clinical findings.
- January 2024: Appeared in the webinar “Palestine Speaks: Medical Response to Genocide in Palestine,” presenting accusations of war crimes under the cover of public health.
- January 2025: Participated in a healthcare workers’ rally for Gaza, aligning herself with activists who routinely defend Hamas and oppose all forms of engagement with Israeli institutions.
- Positions herself not as a medical voice for peace—but as a professional validator of political accusation.
Her message is clear: to remain neutral or refuse to condemn Israel is, in her words, “complicity in genocide.”
Social Media Activity and Propaganda Amplification
On digital platforms, Jirmanus is a persistent voice for extremist content—sharing protest footage, promoting FSJP statements, and amplifying inflammatory slogans from radical organizations.
- Instagram & X (@larazjmd): Posts encampment updates, shares visuals of protest signs with slogans such as “divest from genocide,” and reposts material from groups known for antisemitic messaging.
- Disseminates radical faculty letters and speeches, often omitting any reference to Hamas terrorism or October 7.
- Frames all pushback against her rhetoric as silencing or “Zionist backlash.”
Her feed is not educational—it’s political agitation dressed as moral leadership.
A Public Health Figure Legitimizing Hate
Lara Jirmanus is not advancing humanitarian care—she is weaponizing medicine to promote a deeply politicized and polarizing agenda. By using her Harvard title and healthcare background to validate accusations of genocide and shield extremist protest activity, she has become a key figure in the campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state and destabilize campus discourse.
- Co-founded radical faculty groups with documented histories of antisemitism.
- Publicly accused Harvard of genocide and war profiteering.
- Backed encampments that fostered intimidation and antisemitic harassment.
- Framed medical neutrality as moral betrayal.
- Used digital and public forums to normalize pro Hamas extremism.
Jirmanus has turned the language of care into a weapon of condemnation—and her continued influence at Harvard raises urgent questions about the boundaries of academic responsibility and institutional credibility.