Here are the CEOs and investors who want Harvard to release the names of students blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks — so they can avoid hiring them

• Billionaire Bill Ackman wants Harvard to name the students whose organizations co-signed a letter laying blame for the Hamas attacks on Israel.
• His post saying the names should be released so CEOs can avoid hiring them drew over 10 million views on X.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called on Harvard to release the names of students whose organizations signed a letter blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks, so CEOs can avoid hiring them.

"I have been asked by a number of CEOs if Harvard would release a list of the members of each of the Harvard organizations that have issued the letter assigning sole responsibility for Hamas' heinous acts to Israel, so as to insure that none of us inadvertently hire any of their members," Ackman wrote in a post that has since racked up over 10 million views on X.

Now, a growing chorus of CEOs and investors are backing Ackman's call.

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"Share the list, please. We'll stay away," Ale Resnik, the CEO of rental housing startup Belong, replied to Ackman's post on X.

Tech investor and entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky echoed the same sentiment. Varsavsky told Insider in a text message he thought Ackman was "right."

—Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) October 10, 2023

"I would like to know so I know never to hire these people," Jonathan Newman, the CEO of salad chain Sweetgreen, wrote in response to Ackman.

"We are in as well," said Michael Broukhim, the CEO of gift box membership company FabFitFun.

"Same," wrote David Duel, CEO of healthcare services firm EasyHealth on X, in response to Newman.

"I completely agree, and have been wondering the same the last couple of days if/when the names of these students would come out," said Michael McQuaid, the head of DeFi operations at blockchain company Bloq.

Others who appeared to voice their agreement with Ackman's post include Stephen Ready, the CEO of the brand marketing firm Inspired; Hu Montague, the founder and vice president of the construction company Diligent; Art Levy, the chief strategy officer of the payments platform Brex; and Jake Wurzak, the CEO of the hospitality investment group Dovehill Capital Management.

Harvard, Ackman, Resnik, Varsavsky, Duel, Ready, Montague, Levy, Wurzack, McQuaid, Newman, and Broukhim did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

These CEOs and investors are directing their ire at a letter written by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups published on Sunday.

"We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence, the letter states, adding: "The apartheid regime is the only one to blame. Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years."

The letter has since been updated to remove the list of over 30 student groups who co-signed it, "for student safety."

To be sure, not everyone agreed with Ackman's call to name the students and his comments drew a mixed reaction on X.

One user wrote, "Not every student whose name shws up on some list was involved in these statements. most r undergrads. plenty of people w real blood on their hands to lash out at w/o doing this."

Mehdi Hasan, the host of MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan show, wrote in response to Ackman on X, "Hedge fund guy who has pretended in the past to care about free speech now wants to name, shame, and punish college students for expressing views he dislikes and finds offensive."