The chief executive of men’s hair loss company HIMS has sparked furious reactions and threats of boycott after he offered jobs to university students protesting in support of Palestine.
Andrew Dudum, who identifies as Palestinian-American, expressed his support for students protesting on American campuses in X.
“Moral courage > College degree,” the CEO wrote Wednesday.
‘If you are currently protesting the genocide of the Palestinian people and your university’s divestment from Israel, continue. Is working. There are many companies and CEOs eager to hire you, regardless of university discipline.
Dudum then shared a link to apply for a job at HIMS, an online pharmacy that also carries the HERS brand and offers erectile dysfunction, anxiety, and skin care products.
Critics were quick to react to Dudum’s message, with many social media users saying they would cancel their HIMS subscriptions and ask others to do the same.
Andrew Dudum, who identifies as Palestinian-American, expressed support for students protesting on American campuses on
Conservative writer Ben Domenech wrote: ‘If you support Israel, cancel your HIMS subscription immediately. Anyway, you can get similar products elsewhere at a cheaper price.’
Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of software company Palantir Technologies, also weighed in, saying, “True moral courage does not involve joining a mindless mob, chanting anti-American Pablum and other woke people, following instructions not to debate or discuss your positions at all.” “. but being indignantly fair, while large numbers of the mob shout for violence and block the Jewish students.’
Many pointed out that Dudum may be harming the interests of shareholders who may not agree with him, given that HIMS is a publicly traded company.
Others shared screenshots of their unsubscription, with one user X writing as a reason: “Their CEO supports Hamas.”
Dudum, who said he has family in Gaza and the West Bank, founded HIMS in 2017.
He wrote a blog entry In November he called for a ceasefire and lamented that companies continued to support Israel after its counterattack had already killed some 10,000 Palestinians.
“Now, a month after the October 7 attack, we find ourselves in a world where Israel has killed some 10,000 Palestinians and more than 4,000 innocent children in a military response that almost all international experts denounce as violations of international law and rights. human rights,” Dudum wrote.
And the messages of unequivocal support for Israel are still on our corporate pages, untouched and not updated.’
In the Medium post, Dudum described himself as “a father whose children are descendants of Palestinian refugees who fled the Nakba in 1948 and descendants of Holocaust survivors from Poland.”
The businessman, who is also an accomplished cellist, was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated from the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dudum’s stance contrasts with that of other CEOs who have said they will not hire students who participate in pro-Palestine protests.
DailyMail.com has contacted HIMS for comment on this story.
Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and explosive devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings.
More than 100 people were detained during a crackdown in Columbia, just a fraction of the total arrests stemming from recent campus protests over the war between Israel and Hamas.
An Associated Press tally recorded at least 56 incidents of arrests at 43 different colleges or universities in the United States since April 18. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
Early Thursday, officers charged into a crowd of protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, eventually arresting at least 200 protesters after hundreds defied orders to leave, some forming human chains as police fired shots. stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
Police tore down a barricade of plywood, pallets, chain-link fences and garbage containers from a fortified camp, then tore down canopies and tents.
As at UCLA, camps of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or with companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread to other campuses across the country in a student movement like no other in this century.
Israel has called the protests anti-Semitic, while critics of Israel say it uses such accusations to silence the opposition.
The NYPD took action to clear Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall on April 30.
A pro-Palestinian protester is arrested at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on April 29.
Although some protesters have been caught on camera making anti-Semitic comments or violent threats, protest organizers call it a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and protest against the war.
President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right of students to peacefully protest, but denounced the disorder of recent days.
Demonstrations began in Columbia on April 17 with students calling for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to that area’s Health Ministry.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on October 7 and took approximately 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.