Elite Law Firms Rescind Job Offers Over Palestine Support Letters

Three Ivy League students, who had openly supported Palestine and criticized Israel in letters, have had their job offers revoked by the prestigious law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. The firm’s managing partner, Neil Barr, cited that the students’ views expressed in the letter were “contrary to our firm’s values.” Two of the affected students are reportedly still in discussions with the firm.

The students had signed letters titled ‘Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine’ and a similar letter by Columbia student groups. These letters condemned Israel for its actions following the October 7 Hamas attacks and stated that the Israeli government had kept Palestinians in an “open-air prison” for over two decades.

Last week, another law firm, Winston & Strawn, rescinded a job offer to a former New York University Student Bar Association president, Ryna Workman, who had blamed Israel for the Hamas attack.

The move by Davis Polk & Wardwell comes in the midst of ongoing controversies surrounding U.S. university students’ opinions on the Middle East conflict. Harvard, where some of the students in question attended, has faced backlash over the letter, prompting prominent alumni to express their concerns about the university’s stance on the conflict. In response, Harvard’s president and senior leadership issued a statement expressing sorrow for the destruction caused by the recent Hamas attack in Israel.

The decision by Davis Polk & Wardwell, a firm with around 1,000 attorneys and significant annual revenues, reflects the ongoing debate and divisions around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on and off college campuses.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Hindustan Times