Press play above to hear Ken Roth explain why “Israel has become a pariah state.”
Kenneth Roth spent nearly three decades leading Human Rights Watch, exposing state-sponsored crimes in some of the darkest corners of the world. His new book Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments named one of The Economist’s best of 2025—is a chilling account of what it takes to confront power, and what happens when you do.
In our recent conversation on Out Loud, Roth shares what happened when Harvard tried to silence him for criticizing Israel and said many other quiet parts out loud.
A Legacy Born in Exile
“My father fled Nazi Germany in July, 1938 as a 12-year-old boy.”
The moral compass that has guided Roth’s life was shaped by his father’s escape from Nazi Germany. Haircuts became history lessons—stories that began light and ended heavy. “They showed me the evil that governments could do,” Roth told me. This legacy drove him to law school, then into the trenches of human rights work.
Harvard’s Cowardice: When Donors Dictate Principles
After leaving Human Rights Watch, Roth was offered a fellowship at Harvard’s Kennedy School. It was a chance to write, reflect, and teach. Everything was moving forward—until that question.
Two weeks later, the dean vetoed the fellowship. Quietly. No public explanation. Behind the scenes, it was made clear: his criticism of Israel was the reason.
“The dean never denied it. He just said he only spoke to ‘people who mattered to him.’”
Only after an outcry—media attention, protests, pressure—was the decision reversed. But the silence from Harvard leadership spoke volumes.
“Harvard does not have a stellar record up until this point.”
From Occupier to Outcast
Roth didn’t mince words. He spoke of a growing isolation for Israel as it bombs journalists, schools, hospitals—and dares the world to care.
“Pretty much everybody but the U.S. government is turning away. Even that relationship is precarious.”
Germany, once seen as Israel’s firmest ally after the U.S., is now faltering under the weight of its own contradictions. Roth points to a telling statistic: 73% of Germans support restricting arms to Israel. But their government refuses.
