New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism, Harvard President Speaks Out, DEI Rollbacks

Summary

Up First from NPR: May 27, 2025

NPR's "Up First" delivers the top three stories to start your day. In this episode, the focus is on the controversial new Gaza aid group, Harvard University's stand against the Trump administration, and the significant rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in corporate America.

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1. New Gaza Aid Group Faces Criticism

Humanitarian Efforts Amidst Controversy

Humanitarian aid is making its way back into Gaza after Israel lifted a nearly three-month-long aid ban last week. The central figure in this renewed effort is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization aimed at alleviating widespread hunger and malnutrition in the region. Despite the urgent need, the foundation is under intense scrutiny and facing growing criticism from the United Nations, which is managing its own separate aid operations in Gaza.

Key Developments:

• Resignation Over Ethical Concerns: The foundation's director resigned, stating, “The plan cannot follow principles of humanity and neutrality and there really is not a lot of transparency about this group” (03:17).
• Restricted Distribution Zones: Unlike the UN's extensive distribution network, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is limiting aid distribution to four specific zones, monitored by Israeli soldiers and private contractors. This approach has led major aid organizations and the UN to refuse cooperation.
• Allegations of Hidden Agendas: Israel's opposition leader has alleged that the Israeli government is secretly funding the aid group, raising further doubts about its intentions and transparency.

Strategic Implications: The foundation's strategy is perceived as a tactic to separate civilians from Hamas, aiming to starve the militant group while controlling the movement and aid distribution to the Palestinian population. This dual approach has put Palestinians in a difficult position—some are hesitant to accept aid from the new group, while others are desperate enough to take it despite Hamas's warnings against doing so.

Ceasefire Negotiations: Amidst these developments, there are tentative movements towards a temporary ceasefire and a hostage exchange deal. Daniel Estrin from NPR reports that negotiations are expected to take place in Cairo, but optimism remains cautious at this stage (05:14).

Notable Quotes:

• “There are people who would like to see these universities brought down.” – Alan Garber, President of Harvard University (00:31)
• “It’s really an idea that was devised by Israeli military veterans since the early days of the Gaza war to separate civilians into guarded zones, to feed those civilians and to starve Hamas.” – Daniel Estrin (04:29)

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2. Harvard President Defends Legal Battles Against Trump Administration

Standing Firm Against Policy Attacks

Harvard University is actively resisting two significant actions by the Trump administration: the cutting off of billions in research grants and the attempted ban on hosting international students. In response, Harvard has filed lawsuits to challenge these measures, with a judge temporarily blocking the international student ban, allowing foreign students to remain for now.

President Alan Garber’s Stance: In a video interview with Steve Inskeep, Harvard President Alan Garber emphasized the university’s commitment to education and truth, asserting that failing in these areas invites attacks:

• Commitment to Core Values: “We need to be firm in our commitments to what we stand for. And what we stand for, I believe, is education, pursuit of the truth. When we fail in that, then we can expect to be attacked.” (06:06)
• Defense Against Conservative Critique: Garber acknowledges that some conservatives aim to reshape elite higher education, particularly targeting DEI initiatives. He maintains that such attacks are misdirected and counterproductive to national and global betterment.

Legal and Political Challenges: The Department of Homeland Security alleges that Harvard refused to share information about its international students, which is vehemently denied by the university. Garber criticizes the administration’s actions as efforts to exert control over a private institution, linking the funding cuts to political motivations rather than legitimate security concerns.

Addressing Campus Anti-Semitism: Garber also addressed issues of anti-Semitism on campus, noting that some students felt marginalized for not aligning with predominant views on Israel. He is actively working to foster an environment that encourages diverse opinions and international perspectives.

Implications for Higher Education: The ongoing legal battles highlight the tension between federal policies and the autonomy of private educational institutions. The outcome of these lawsuits could set significant precedents for the future of international education and research funding in the United States.

Notable Quotes:

• “We shouldn’t be in an echo chamber. Everyone in our community needs to hear other views.” – Alan Garber (08:38)
• “Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard.” – Alan Garber (07:29)

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3. DEI Rollbacks Lead to Thousands of Corporate Layoffs

Corporate Retreat from Diversity Initiatives

In a stark reversal from the heightened focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs following the murder of George Floyd, corporate America is now abandoning these initiatives. This shift has resulted in the elimination of over 2,600 DEI-related jobs in the past few years, amounts to more than 10% of these positions at the beginning of 2023.

Factors Driving DEI Rollbacks:

• Legal and Political Pressures: The Supreme Court's decision to overturn affirmative action in 2023 and subsequent conservative backlash have heightened the perceived legal and financial risks associated with DEI initiatives.
• Executive Orders and Policy Changes: President Trump’s reelection brought executive orders targeting what he labels "illegal DEI," further discouraging companies from maintaining these programs.
• Corporate Risk Management: Companies like Verizon have ceased DEI efforts to secure large federal deals, demonstrating the tangible business impacts of maintaining such initiatives.

Impact on DEI Professionals: The retreat from DEI has significantly affected professionals in this field. Maria Aspen of NPR highlights the plight of individuals like Candace Birdsong Williams, a DEI executive with nearly two decades of experience, who has struggled to find new employment after being laid off.

Personal Stories: Candace Birdsong Williams shared her frustrations: “I've been in interviews, and they're like, okay, we're no longer going to rehire for we're no longer going to staff this role. And so that's when I knew this isn't the same environment that it was years ago.” (11:48)

Economic and Social Repercussions: The dismantling of DEI programs not only affects those employed in these roles but also undermines efforts to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces. The loss of specialized DEI professionals hampers organizations' abilities to address systemic inequalities and foster diverse environments.

Future Outlook: The significant reduction in DEI roles signals a potential setback for corporate inclusivity efforts. As companies navigate the changing political landscape, the sustainability and importance of DEI initiatives remain uncertain, raising concerns about long-term impacts on workplace diversity and employee equity.

Notable Quotes:

• “This is a really steep loss of a lot of jobs, and it's affecting thousands of people who are trained and experienced in this area.” – Maria Aspen (10:55)
• “It's just been it's been pretty tough. We tell a lot more of her story in a new digital feature that published [e-mail]” – Maria Aspen (12:54)

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Conclusion

Today's episode of "Up First" delved into pressing global and national issues, highlighting the complexities of humanitarian aid in conflict zones, the ongoing struggles of elite educational institutions against political pressures, and the significant shifts in corporate America's approach to diversity and inclusion. These stories underscore the interconnectedness of politics, social justice, and economic policies in shaping our world.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “The plan cannot follow principles of humanity and neutrality and there really is not a lot of transparency about this group.” – Jake Wood, former director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation 03:17
• “We need to be firm in our commitments to what we stand for. And what we stand for, I believe, is education, pursuit of the truth. When we fail in that, then we can expect to be attacked.” – Alan Garber, President of Harvard University 06:06
• “We shouldn’t be in an echo chamber. Everyone in our community needs to hear other views.” – Alan Garber 08:38
• “This is a really steep loss of a lot of jobs, and it's affecting thousands of people who are trained and experienced in this area.” – Maria Aspen 10:55
• “I've been in interviews, and they're like, okay, we're no longer going to rehire for we're no longer going to staff this role. And so that's when I knew this isn't the same environment that it was years ago.” – Candace Birdsong Williams 11:48

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Listen to "Up First" for more insights and stay informed with NPR’s comprehensive coverage.

Transcript

[A. Martinez]

Humanitarian aid is once again getting into Gaza.

[Michelle Martin]

After blocking aid for months, Israel lifted its ban last week. But there are questions about a new U. S backed aid group. What do we know about this group?

[A. Martinez]

I'm A. Martinez. That is Michelle Martin and this is up first from NPR News. The Trump administration has targeted Harvard University policies, but its president, Alan Garber says it's about something bigger.

[Alan Garber]

There are people who would like to see these universities brought down.

[A. Martinez]

Steve Inske spoke with Garber and he'll tell us what he's learned.

[Michelle Martin]

And diversity, equity and inclusion programs are being eliminated across corporate America. That has led to thousands of layoffs. Where do we go from here with dei? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

[Steve Inske]

This message comes from Schwab. At Schwab, how you invest is your choice, not theirs. That's why when it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices. You can invest and trade on your own. Plus get advice and more comprehensive wealth solutions to help meet your unique needs. With award winning service, low costs and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more.

[Maria Aspen]

This message comes from Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right. They offer premium wireless plans for less and all plans include high speed data, unlimited talk and text and nationwide coverage. See for [e-mail] Switch this message comes from NPR's sponsor, Odoo Business Management Software. Some say Odoo is like fertilizer because it promotes growth. Others say it's a magic beanstalk scaling with efficiency. Odoo, exactly what a business needs. Sign up today at O-O-O.com A new.

[Michelle Martin]

Group backed by the US is beginning to bring food to Gaza where hunger is widespread and extreme.

[A. Martinez]

But the group, the Gaza Humanitarian foundation, is facing suspicion and growing criticism from the UN which is running a separate effort to bring aid to Gaza. The group's own director resigned, saying the program is not humanitarian.

[Michelle Martin]

Israel says this program as well as its intentions intensified airstrikes on Gaza are key to its overall strategy to defeat Hamas. With me now to tell us more about this is NPR's Daniel Estrin. He's on the line from Tel Aviv. Welcome, Daniel. Thanks for joining us.

[Daniel Estrin]

Thank you, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

First of all, what food is getting into Gaza right now?

[Daniel Estrin]

Israel started letting in limited quantities after a nearly three month total ban. There was intense pressure from the US to let food in because of malnutrition and warnings of a famine but just this effort to get a little amount of food into Gaza has been chaotic. The United Nations World Food Program delivered flour and supplies to bakeries and just a couple days ago they were overwhelmed by hungry crowds and looters. There were reports of a shootout and the bakeries shut down. And aid officials I'm speaking with are concerned that this could be a preview of what's to come as this new US Backed group gets ready to deliver food to big crowds of hungry people.

[Michelle Martin]

So tell us more about this US Backed group and the controversy surrounding it.

[Daniel Estrin]

The Gaza Humanitarian foundation is a new entity. It involves American contractors and instead of having food distributed in hundreds of points across Gaza, this group is going to be restricting that to four new zones with Israeli soldiers guarding the perimeter and private contractors giving out boxes of food to families once a week. And it says that it's begun distributing its first food boxes at one site yesterday and it's going to be ramping up activities. But all the major aid groups in Gaza and the United nations are refusing to cooperate. Jake Wood is the US Marine veteran who directed the group. He abruptly resigned just as they were getting started. He said the plan cannot follow principles of humanity and neutrality and there really is not a lot of transparency about this group. Michelle. A private US Security company run by a former CIA officer is involved. It's posted a job posting online saying they'll train people on the job and the group won't say where its funding is coming from. Israel's opposition leader is alleging that Israel is secretly funding the.

[Michelle Martin]

So, so many questions about this group that aren't being answered. But the US And Israel are backing it. So tell us more about that, like why is that? What's the goal here?

[Daniel Estrin]

It's really an idea that was devised by Israeli military veterans since the early days of the Gaza war to separate civilians into guarded zones, to feed those civilians and to starve Hamas. Now Israeli officials have also said publicly that the aim here is to get Palestinians to move south near Egypt as a step toward moving people to other countries. Israel's allies in say that would be forcible mass displacement and they oppose it. And Hamas is warning Palestinians not to take food from this new U. S backed group. So it puts Palestinians in a really difficult position. They're starving, they're telling us that some would refuse to take part and others they're desperate and they would go get that food.

[Michelle Martin]

So before we let you go, can you briefly update us on ceasefire negotiations?

[Daniel Estrin]

There does seem to be some movement toward a temporary ceasefire and a hostage deal. There's been a flurry of statements from Israel and Hamas yesterday and today. And Israeli negotiations is expected to be in Cairo today, but it is too soon to be optimistic.

[Michelle Martin]

That is NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thank you.

[Daniel Estrin]

You're welcome.

[Michelle Martin]

The president of Harvard University is defending his decision to sue the Trump administration twice.

[A. Martinez]

Harvard sued once when the Trump administration cut off billions of dollars of research grants and contracts. The university sued again late last week when the banned it from hosting international students. A judge temporarily blocked that, so foreign students stay for now. President Alan Garber spoke about this in a video interview with Steve Inske.

[Alan Garber]

We need to be firm in our commitments to what we stand for. And what we stand for, I believe, is education, pursuit of the truth. When we fail in that, then we can expect to be attacked.

[Michelle Martin]

And Steve is on the line with us this morning to tell us more about his conversation with President Alan Garber. Good morning, Steve.

[Steve Inske]

Good morning. Good morning, Michelle.

[Michelle Martin]

So Harvard certainly is being attacked. How does the president of Harvard see this ongoing battle with the White House?

[Steve Inske]

Well, both the Harvard lawsuit and Alan Garber contend the administration is going after something bigger than just international students. Garber says he doesn't fully know the motives, but he does know some conservatives want to reshape elite higher education over issues like diversity, equity and inclusion.

[Alan Garber]

And that is why, insofar as there are people who would like to see these universities brought down, in some sense, I think that their fire is misdirected because we have a common interest in making the nation and indeed the world a better place.

[Steve Inske]

In this case, Michelle, the Department of Homeland Security says it banned international students from Harvard because the school blatantly refused to demand to give information about them. Garber insists Harvard gave information and DHS lashed out anyway. And Harvard describes that as well as the cutoff in funding as an effort to gain power over a private school.

[Alan Garber]

Why cut off research funding? Sure, it hurts Harvard, but it hurts the country because, after all, the research funding, it's not a gift. The research funding is given to universities and other research institutions to carry out work that the federal government designates as high priority work. Shutting off that work does not help the country, even as it punishes Harvard. And it is hard to see the link between that and, say, antisemitism.

[Michelle Martin]

He mentioned anti Semitism. That's certainly something that President Trump has been talking about even as recently as yesterday. You know, Harvard has been criticized by statements made by some students after the October 7 attacks in Israel. How does President Garber Respond to that.

[Steve Inske]

He accepts a lot of that criticism. The president himself is Jewish. He says some students felt shunned on campus if they didn't take what was seen as a proper view of Israel. He's trying to correct that.

[Michelle Martin]

Okay, but what about that? So there is a broader conservative critique. What does he say about that?

[Steve Inske]

He accepts some of it. Said he wants to encourage, for example, freer debate on campus, and then he turned that idea to make a point of his own.

[Alan Garber]

We shouldn't be in an echo chamber. Everyone in our community needs to hear other views. And let me add, that's one reason why it is so important for us to be able to have international students on our campus. There is so much that they contribute to our environment and they enable everyone else to open their minds.

[Steve Inske]

Harvard says eliminating foreign students would erase a quarter of the student body. Now, the court order means nothing happens for now, as you mentioned, but the university faces a very uncertain court battle.

[Michelle Martin]

Steve, thanks.

[Steve Inske]

Glad to do it.

[A. Martinez]

Corporate America is running away from diversity, equity and inclusion, or dei, and also from the people hired to do this work.

[Michelle Martin]

This marks a sharp reversal from five years ago, when the murder of George Floyd and the public outcry that followed sent companies racing to staff up.

[A. Martinez]

Now, NPR is the first report on exactly how many of those jobs have been lost. NPR business correspondent Marie Aspen has the exclusive. Now, we've been hearing about companies ending their DEI policies for years now. What's new?

[Maria Aspen]

Right? Some of the biggest US Employers, Walmart, Target, Amazon, have announced that they're ending some DEI policies. And a companies have been retreating for a few years now. Back in 2023, the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action. And that same summer, Bud Light faced a conservative backlash after it hired a transgender influence for a marketing video. That all made companies start worrying about the legal and financial risks of talking about dei. And then President Trump was reelected and issued executive orders against what he calls illegal DEI that increased the political risks. For example, just this month, we saw Verizon tell a federal agency that it would end many of its DEI policies right before the government approved a big $20 billion deal for Verizon. So for months I've been covering this drumbeat of news about companies ending dei. And I started wondering what that meant for all of the people affected, the people they hired to do this work.

[A. Martinez]

So what'd you dig up?

[Maria Aspen]

The numbers are pretty bleak. More than 2,600 jobs in diversity, or DEI, have been eliminated in the last couple of years. That's more than 10% of the jobs that existed at the start of 2023. Now, these are numbers from a data analysis that a firm called Revelio Labs did exclusively for npr. And it found that this was a dramatic change from five years ago after George Floyd was murdered. There was this huge rush for companies to hire chief diversity officers and other people with experience in this kind of specialized field. But now these people are being reassigned or having their jobs renamed or in some cases, being laid off. So this is a really steep loss of a lot of jobs, and it's affecting thousands of people who are trained and experienced in this area.

[A. Martinez]

What are these workers telling you about how this backlash affects them?

[Maria Aspen]

It's been pretty hard. For this story, I spent a lot of time talking to Candace Birdsong Williams. She was a top executive with almost two decades of experience in this field doing things like creating mentorship programs to help underrepresented employees get more visibility and opportunities at the office. But she was laid off from her last company last summer, and she hasn't been able to find a new job. This is what Birdsong Williams told me when I visited her at home in Raleigh this spring. I was like, oh, I'll bounce back quickly. I've been in interviews, and they're like, okay, we're no longer going to rehire for we're no longer going to staff this role. And so that's when I knew this isn't the same environment that it was years ago. And it's just it's just been it's been pretty tough. We tell a lot more of her story in a new digital feature that published [e-mail] Now, Birdsong Williams is just one person, of course, but now we know that there are thousands of people who have been living through this very changing and now very politicized job market.

[A. Martinez]

That's NPR's Maria Aspen. Maria, thanks for telling us about this.

[Maria Aspen]

Thanks so much.

[Michelle Martin]

And that's up first for Tuesday, May 27th.

[A. Martinez]

I'm Michelle Martin and Amy Martinez. The NPR app lets you keep public radio right in your pocket. You'll find a mix of local, national and international news, plus the best podcasts from the NPR network. So go download the NPR app in your App Store today.

[Michelle Martin]

Today's episode of Up first was edited by Kerry Khan, Reena Advani, Pallavi Goy, H.J. mai, and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Bhatt, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hyness, and our technical director is Carly Strange. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

[Maria Aspen]

Foreign.

[Steve Inske]

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[A. Martinez]

For a free 2 week trial, go.

[Maria Aspen]

To 1Password.com NPR this message comes from Warby Parker. What makes a great pair of glasses at Warby Parker? It's all the invisible extras without the extra cost, like free adjustments for life. Find your [e-mail] or visit one of their hundreds of stores around the country.