(JTA) — The student-run Harvard Ichthus Christian blog website apologized for an anonymous post saying that Jews deserve to be persecuted for killing Jesus.
The apology was issued on Friday. The post, which has been removed from the site, was published on Nov. 20.
“(W)e sincerely apologize for breaching the confidence of civil dialogue. This has been a growing experience for all involved here at the Ichthus, and, as students, we sincerely appreciate the patience and grace you have demonstrated towards us,” editor-in-chief Aaron Gyde wrote in his apology.
The Harvard Ichthus is a university-recognized student group.
A Jewish convert to Christianity wrote the post, the Boston Globe reported.
“We, the Jews, collectively rejected God and hung Him up on a cross to die, and thus we deserved the punishments that were heaped on our heads over the last 2000 years,” the post said, according to the Globe.
In the apology, the Ichthus wrote that its blogs are “intended to be areas of thoughtful dialogue.”
“This particular piece has led to increasing misunderstanding and disinformation about the author’s views, the Ichthus, and Christianity,” it said. “We do acknowledge that many of the claims of Christianity are offensive to those who do not believe it, but we think that much of the offense that has resulted from this article is not the offense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And for that we apologize.”
