Harvard Honors took on a controversial meaning during the 2025 Divinity School commencement when graduate Zehra Imam used her faculty-approved platform to praise Elom Tettey-Tamaklo, a fellow student charged with assaulting an Israeli classmate during a pro-Palestinian protest. Speaking draped in a keffiyeh and holding a Palestinian flag, Imam declared, “Class of 2025, Palestine is waiting for us to arrive,” to cheers from the audience.
Tettey-Tamaklo and fellow graduate Ibrahim Bharmal were filmed shoving and surrounding a Jewish student at an October 2023 “die-in” protest, using scarves to block the student’s view. Both were ordered to complete 80 hours of community service and attend anger management courses through a pretrial diversion program. Despite this, Harvard named Tettey-Tamaklo a class marshal, and Bharmal received a $65,000 fellowship from the Harvard Law Review.
Imam, a Muslim associate chaplain at MIT known for her anti-Israel activism, was selected by a Harvard Divinity School committee to speak at commencement. According to a university spokesman, Imam deviated from her originally approved speech. “Staff had no prior knowledge of the revised and given speech,” the spokesman said. “The views and opinions expressed by the speakers during this ceremony are solely those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of HDS or Harvard University.”
Imam also praised Columbia University students Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, who face deportation proceedings for their leadership in anti-Israel protests. She described their activism as marked by “enormous hearts, unwavering courage, and profound wisdom.”
Her remarks come as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to penalize Harvard for allowing antisemitism to fester on campus. The administration has moved to strip the university of its ability to host international students, eliminate its tax-exempt status, and freeze billions in federal funding.
