Good morning, readers!

The Israel-Hamas conflict isn’t just overseas—it’s sparking tension in the US. Protests, doxxing, and a growing divide over differing viewpoints are tearing at its unity.

The ideal of unity that the name United States of America embodies seems more elusive than ever.

Today’s hotspots

Harvard students get doxxed for anti-Israel statement.

Imagine being a Harvard student and waking up to see your name and face plastered on a billboard truck, accusing you of being an antisemite.

That’s what happened to some students who signed a statement blaming Israel for the recent violence in Gaza.

The statement that sparked the controversy.

The statement was released by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee soon after the surprise Hamas attack.

It condemned Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians and held it “entirely responsible” for all the horrifying acts of terrorism Hamas committed against Israeli citizens.

The statement has since been deleted, but an edited statement with names of signed organizations taken out is still available here.

The backlash from the business world.

The statement did not sit well with some prominent business leaders, who demanded that Harvard reveal the names of the signatories so they could blacklist them from future employment.

One of them was billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who wrote that he would not hire anyone who signed the statement.

The reversal from some student groups.

Faced with the pressure and criticism, some student groups withdrew their endorsement from the statement.

• Some said they did not read it carefully before signing it.

• Others said they weren’t made aware that their orgs signed the statement.

As of Wednesday, at least eight groups had retracted their signatures.

The doxxing truck.

On Wednesday, a billboard truck drove near Harvard’s campus, displaying the names and photos of students affiliated with the groups that signed the statement.

The truck was organized by a conservative nonprofit group called Accuracy In Media, which said it wanted to expose the “leading antisemites” at Harvard.

The group also posted the names online and said it would update them every hour.

The condemnation from Harvard and others.

The doxxing truck was widely denounced by Harvard officials, faculty, and students. They said it was an attempt to intimidate and harass the signatories and stifle free speech.

• Harvard Hillel, a Jewish student organization at Harvard, condemned the truck while rejecting the statement.

• Lawrence Summers, former Harvard President and former US Secretary of the Treasury, clarified that it is not “constructive to vilify individuals,” while standing by his original criticism of the statement.

Quick updates

Click the country's name for more.👇🏻

🇬🇧 United Kingdom:

UK sends military assets to Israel.

The UK is not sitting idly by as Israel faces a barrage of rockets from Hamas. It has deployed surveillance planes, support ships, and Royal Marines to the eastern Mediterranean to back up its ally and join US assets.

✱ NOTE: The UK also wants to keep tabs on any attempts by Iran or Russia to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, which could open a second front against Israel.

🇺🇸 United States:

Iran’s $6 billion fund frozen by US and Qatar.

The US and Qatar have agreed to block Iran from accessing a $6 billion fund that was unfrozen last month as part of a US-Iran prisoner swap. When the swap deal was announced, many lawmakers criticized Biden for paying what they called a “ransom.”

🔎 How it happened:

• Biden admin: “The fund is for humanitarian aid only.”

• Critics: “Money is fungible and it will inevitably aid Iran in funding Hamas and other terrorists.”

✱ NOTE: The agreement comes amid growing criticism of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.

🇸🇾 Syria:

Israel bombs Syrian airports.

Israel has launched airstrikes on two of its international airports, damaging their runways and shutting them down. The attacks are part of Israel’s campaign to stop Iran from arming its allies in the region, such as Hezbollah.

✱ NOTE: This is the first Israeli strike on Syria since Hamas attacked southern Israel with rockets.

🇷🇺 Russia:

Russian Olympic Committee gets kicked.

Russia just got a red card from the Olympic boss. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended the ROC for recognizing sports groups in four annexed Ukrainian territories as Russian. The move violates the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

✱ NOTE: As of now, the suspension does not affect Russian athletes who can still compete as neutrals at Paris 2024. But this is subject to change.