Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is forced to cancel Harvard talk after 11 student organizations withdrew support over her decision to shut down anti-Israel encampment

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has scrapped her plans to appear at Harvard University on Tuesday after losing the support of nearly a dozen student groups in the wake of her decision to shut down the Emerson college Gaza solidarity encampment.

Wu confirmed Sunday that she'd canceled her appearance after 11 student organizations opted out of co-sponsoring the event.

The school's paper, the Harvard Crimson, reported that internal text messages among group leaders condemned Wu's decision to send Boston police to break up the anti-Israel encampment at Emerson college last Thursday morning.

'As an organization we do not support any threats or violations to freedom of expression and peaceful protests and wanted to thank you guys for bringing this issue to light,' one of the student event organizers told the Crimson.

Wu, a progressive leader of the city, graduated from Harvard in 2007.

Progressive Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (pictured) was scrapped as a speaker at Harvard University - her alma mater - this week after her decision to eliminate a pro-Palestinian encampment established by Emerson college students

At Harvard, as at many colleges around the country, a meaningful faction of students has aligned themselves with the Palestinian cause and have, as a result, been disrupting campus life and activity in protest of the war

Following the students' rejection of her appearance, she released a statement explaining that her busy schedule generally keeps her away from such events and so she was quite looking forward to the Harvard address.

'This event had been scheduled after receiving requests from several Harvard student organizations over the course of the school year to visit campus for a conversation about my personal and professional experiences,' began the statement from her office.

'I hardly ever leave Boston, even to go across the river, given my responsibilities as Mayor and all the demands on my time in the city - but I try to make some time each year to give back and engage with students looking to learn more about the realities of government and politics today. 

'When I was on campus as a student, I benefited so much from attending speaker events to ask questions and engage directly with visitors bringing a wide range of perspectives.

'I’d fully planned to engage in discussion with students about ongoing events and news, and to welcome their feedback, but I respect their preferences to use our time elsewhere and wish everyone well with the end of the school year.'

Last Friday, Wu made remarks about her decision to take down the Emerson encampment due to public safety concerns.

'The commissioner and I jointly agreed that the growing encampment needed to be removed in order to address the public safety and fire hazards that it presented,' she said in a statement.

The commissioner oversaw the arrest of at least 108 individuals who were violating city ordinances by participating in the encampment.

At Emerson college in Boston, MA last week, protestors set up their encampment in a way that endangered public safety, Wu and her city commissioner determined

Early last Thursday morning, police officers arrived to clear the encampment. At least 108 people were arrested. Here, an encampment at Harvard University is shown

Wu has been a controversially progressive leader of Boston, often becoming involved in race-based issues that have led to significant negative press for her and her office

Nonetheless, her progressive values are not enough for current college students who do not wish to associate with someone not in absolute support of the Palestinian cause. Seen here, the Palestinian flies above a statue of John Harvard on the university's main campus

Late last year, Wu's office created a media frenzy when it was discovered that it would be hosting an 'electeds of color' Christmas party.

The mayor accidentally invited all staffers - including white ones - to the event, before rescinding the invitation and sticking to a people of color only guest list.

Following former Harvard president Claudine Gay's forced resignation after a botched job handling post-October 7 campus activity, Wu's name was floated as a possible replacement option for the university leader.

Wu earned two degrees from Harvard, but eventually stated publicly that she was not up for the job. She had publicly backed Gay during her battle to keep her job, indicating in a number of statements that Gay was being unjustly targeted because of her identity.