Jo Malone's son Josh Willcox says he does NOT support Harvard letter that blamed Hamas attacks on Israel: 'Terrorism is never justified under any circumstances'

The son of British perfume tycoon Jo Malone has tried to distance himself from a Harvard University letter written by a student group he ran - which blamed Israel for the Hamas terror attacks.

Josh Willcox, 22, is listed as one of three students who run the Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, according to Harvard's directory of student groups.

The PSC issued a letter on October 7, co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations, stating: 'We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.'

Willcox is now claiming that he had nothing to do with the letter written by his organization and said he was away from campus when it was written. 

His mother - who sold her Jo Malone brand to Estee Lauder in 1999 for a sum described as 'undisclosed millions', and now runs her own Jo Loves brand - immediately rejected her son's group's statement, and described the Hamas attacks as 'abhorrent'.

But it was not until Saturday, after a week of mounting anger and widespread revulsion, that Willcox insisted he was not involved in its drafting.

'In contrast to the PSC open letter, I believe that anyone who inflicts violence on civilians is solely responsible for their actions,' he wrote on Instagram.

'I therefore do not support the letter's attribution of blame for Saturday's attacks to Israel.' 

Josh Willcox (left)  son of perfume mogul Jo Malone (center) is listed as one of three Harvard students who run the Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee. He is also pictured with his father Gary Willcox at a ritzy London party in 2017 

The letter caused a massive backlash after 33 student societies backed the statement written by the PSC 'holding the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence'

Willcox, a senior studying Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, insisted he had not been at Harvard all semester. 

MailOnline.com has contacted Willcox and Malone to request clarification on why he has not been on campus.

He also insisted in his Instagram post he had nothing to do with the writing of the letter.

Willcox said he was writing the Instagram post 'to make clear my personal views in relation to the open letter.'

He wrote: '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.'

Willcox continued: 'Throughout my time at university, I've tried to stand up for the human rights of all people even when our campus and global community seemed heartbreakingly silent.

'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.

'May we never stop advocating for the right of every individual to live a peaceful life of dignity.' 

Willcox has been an active member of the PSC throughout his time at Harvard, writing op-eds in the Harvard Crimson student newspaper and speaking at rallies.

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.

He criticized Harvard Kennedy School for extending a fellowship to Amos Yadlin, a former senior officer in the Israeli military. 

He accused Harvard of 'welcom[ing] agents of colonial violence.' 

Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University on October 14. When the terror attacks were launched by Hamas on October 7, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee issued a co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations, stating: 'We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence'

Harvard students at the October 14 rally on campus

The students behind the letter have been condemned for their blaming Israel.

Many of those leading the 33 organizations and the Solidarity Committee have been named, and faced calls to be blacklisted from future employment. One NYU law student has had her job offer rescinded, and on Sunday a law professor at Berkeley called for law firms to refuse to hire 'my anti-Semite students'.

On Wednesday, the Harvard Arab Alumni Association wrote to its members appealing for help in supporting the students.

'They may require legal counsel, healthcare, mental health support, financial aid or mentorship to navigate these turbulent and uncertain times,' the group said.

'They have been subjected to relentless bullying and intimidation,' the association wrote, in a letter obtained by reporter John Hasson.

'This situation is rapidly deteriorating as some students find their names on watchlists, creating severe risks for their immigration status and future career prospects.

'Our ask and plea to you all is to extend your hand to these students and provide the vital assistance they need within your capacity and scope of influence.'

Neither Harvard nor the association have responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment. 

'Today's events did not occur in a vacuum,' their October 7 statement read. 

'For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to 'open the gates of hell,' and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced.

'In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel's violence. The apartheid regime is the only one to blame,' it continues.

Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, said days later the letter does not speak for the educational institution as a whole or its leadership. 

Her comments came after some criticized the Harvard administration for taking too long to denounce the student letter. 

She then issued a second statement and said the university rejects terrorism, hate and harassment based on people's beliefs while embracing free expression, even 'views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous.'

She wrote: 'We do not punish or sanction people for expressing' objectionable or outrageous views.

'But that is a far cry from endorsing them. It's in the exercise of our freedom to speak that we reveal our characters and we reveal the character of our institution.'

Harvard President Claudine Gay (pictured) has finally condemned the 'terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel' - at odds with 34 student groups at the Ivy League institution who have pledged support to the militants

The death toll has topped 1,300 in Israel as the country plots a bloody revenge

An aerial view shows the bodies of victims of the Hamas attack on the Kfar Aza Kibbutz on Tuesday

Troops remove the bodies of victims, killed during an attack by Hamas terrorists in Kfar Aza, on Tuesday

More than 1million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israeli invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas' leadership. 

Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli forces, supported by U.S. warships, have positioned themselves along Gaza's border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. 

A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished neighborhoods but failed to stop militant rocket fire into Israel.

The war that began October 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, with more than 4,000 dead. 

The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded.