British perfume magnate Jo Malone and her Harvard-student son responded to reports that he was an organizer for the Palestine Solidarity Committee — one of the student groups behind the letter blaming Israel for Hamas’ deadly attacks — with both saying they reject the letter’s uproarious message.
“Over the past few days, we have seen horrific massacres in Israel and as I write this, we are seeing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises unfold in Gaza,” Malone’s 22-year-old son Josh Willcox wrote in a message posted to Instagram.
“In contrast to the PSC open letter, I believe that anyone who inflicts violence on civilians is solely responsible for their actions. I therefore do not support the letter’s attribution of blame for Saturday’s attacks to Israel. Terrorism is never justified under any circumstances,” he added.
He went on to reference his alliance with Palestine.
“My organizing has always been an explicit support of non-violent advocacy in the hope of achieving dignity for Palestinians living under an internationally-recognized Occupation,” Willcox wrote.
“May we never stop advocating for the right of every individual to live a peaceful life of dignity.”
The Ivy League undergrad added that he has “not been on the Harvard campus this semester and was not involved in the drafting or release of the letter.” Willcox is a member of the school’s men’s fencing team and has penned several op-ed columns for the group published by the Harvard Crimson.
In an editorial published by the campus newspaper earlier this year, Willcox denounced “the brutal oppression of Palestinians” by “an apartheid regime,” a reference to Israel, and blasted Harvard Kennedy School for extending a fellowship to Amos Yadlin, a former senior officer in the Israeli military.
Willcox, who is pursuing a concentration in Near Eastern languages and civilizations, took the university to task for “welcom[ing] agents of colonial violence.”
The following month, Willcox co-authored an op-ed alongside two other organizers for the PSC — Nadine Bahour and Shraddha Joshi — condemning “Harvard’s anti-Palestinian racism and institutional bias towards Israeli policy.”
The Palestine Solidarity Committee is one of 34 groups that attached its name to the incendiary letter, which sparked a furious backlash for claiming “the Israeli regime [is] entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
It’s unclear why Willcox — the only child of Malone, 60, and her husband, Gary Willcox — hasn’t been spending his time on Harvard’s campus, or how he initially got involved in forming the PSC.
If Willcox as an organizer wasn’t involved in the drafting of the PSC’s divisive letter, it’s unclear who was at the drafting table.
The PSC’s website has gone private. Representatives for the organization did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.
His mother — who sold her namesake Jo Malone London perfume company in 1999 to cosmetics giant Estée Lauder, whose son Ronald Lauder serves as the president of the World Jewish Congress — also shared a statement to Instagram.
“Following reports about my son Josh, a student at Harvard, I want to make clear that I would never condone violence towards innocent civilians. The barbaric attack on Israeli civilians was an act of terrorism, sickening and abhorrent,” wrote Malone, who recently relocated from London to Dubai to run fragrance and cosmetics company Jo Loves with her husband.
Malone no longer has ties to the Jo Malone London business.
Malone continued in her statement, which she shared with her nearly 24,000 Instagram followers: “Josh has himself made clear that he does not support the PSC statement that Israel was to blame for the massacre and for the avoidance of doubt nor do I.”
“As his parents, we support his right to continue to campaign on behalf of innocent Palestinians,” she added.
The Post has sought comment from Malone and Willcox.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
