Ghanaian graduate charged in assault on Israeli student during protest hired by Harvard

Harvard University has appointed Ghanaian graduate Elom Tettey-Tamaklo as a Graduate Teaching Fellow, less than two years after he was charged in connection with a heated campus protest involving an Israeli student, according to nypost.com report on December 2, 2025.

Tettey-Tamaklo, 29, who completed a master’s degree in religion, Ethics and Politics at the Harvard Divinity School in May 2024, began the fellowship in August.

According to his professional profile, he is now involved in advising faculty on curriculum design, strengthening academic rigor and providing consultation on migration, development, global politics and other complex subject areas.

According to the report, teaching fellows at the institution typically receive stipends ranging from $3,400 to $11,040, depending on departmental assignment and workload.

Tettey-Tamaklo became a prominent figure in October 2023 after a video circulated widely showing him and two other students confronting Israeli first-year business student Yoav Segev during a “die-in” protest held in the aftermath of Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel.

The confrontation led to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery, prompting an inquiry by the FBI and intense scrutiny from national political figures.

A Boston Municipal Court judge later mandated that Tettey-Tamaklo complete an anger-management programme, a Harvard negotiation course and 80 hours of community service.

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After fulfilling the conditions, the case was dismissed in November 2024.

Harvard refrained from issuing academic sanctions but removed him from a student proctor position citing “student discomfort.” Despite this, Tettey-Tamaklo later received a $65,000 Harvard Law Review fellowship, drawing both support and criticism.

The incident also attracted significant attention from the Trump administration, which accused the university of tolerating antisemitic harassment and warned that federal funding could be jeopardised if Harvard failed to take decisive action against the students involved.

Tettey-Tamaklo was not the only student charged. Ibrahim Bharmal, a Harvard Law School graduate involved in the same protest, faced similar charges and also continued to receive institutional support, including a Harvard Law Review fellowship.

Both men denied making physical contact with Segev and accused the Harvard University Police Department of racially biased policing, according to reporting from the Harvard Crimson.

However, police records cited them among the “most aggressive” participants at the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Segev has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Harvard failed to protect him and obstructed his efforts to seek disciplinary action against the students involved.

He claims the university’s internal processes and communication “misled” him during the ongoing criminal investigation.

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