(Reuters) - U.S. law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell on Tuesday rescinded job offers to law students who signed on to public statements supporting Palestine in the wake of Hamas’ deadly attacks in Israel, following a similar move by fellow law firm Winston & Strawn last week.
Davis Polk's managing partner, Neil Barr, told members of the New York-based firm on Tuesday that it had revoked job offers to three law students in leadership positions at Harvard and Columbia University groups that issued statements regarding the latest wave of violence in the Middle East, according to an internal email obtained by Reuters.
“These statements are simply contrary to our firm’s values and we thus concluded that rescinding these offers was appropriate in upholding our responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive work environment for all Davis Polk employees,” Barr wrote.
A Davis Polk spokesperson on Tuesday declined to identify the students whose offers had been rescinded or what campus groups they were with.
Barr’s email said the firm is remaining “in dialogue” with two of the students to consider any additional information they may offer, suggesting that they could be brought back on board.
Spokespeople from both Harvard Law and Columbia Law declined to comment on the matter Tuesday.
Davis Polk’s decision comes one week after Winston & Strawn said it had rescinded a job offer to former New York University Student Bar Association president Ryna Workman after Workman wrote that "Israel bears full responsibility" for Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel in an online SBA newsletter.
Students at other universities, including Harvard, have also drawn condemnation from alumni and others over similar statements they issued in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks.