Harvard Loses Another Donor Over Anti-Semitism Hearing

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Facts

  • The family foundation of Len Blavatnik, a Jewish-American billionaire of Ukrainian-Russian origin, has suspended donations to Harvard University over alleged antisemitism on campus. Blavatnik's family foundation has reportedly donated at least $270M to the varsity.1
  • Blavatnik is vice-chairman of Warner Music Group and founder of Access Industries. At an estimated net worth of more than $31B, he's the world’s 47th richest person and has pledged to donate more than $1B to Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and other such universities.2
  • The foundation's decision follows Harvard University Pres. Claudine Gay’s recent controversial testimony to US Congress during an antisemitism hearing that saw her criticized for her ambiguous response to a question on whether calling for the 'genocide of Jews' broke the university's rules.3
  • Gay responded to the question by saying it depended 'on the context.' However, she later apologized and clarified on X, previously known as Twitter, that such rhetoric has no place at Harvard. The university's board has stood by her, claiming she's still the 'right leader.'4
  • Blavatnik's foundation, considered the highest-profile donor to abandon Harvard, has also backed efforts to choke funds to the University of Pennsylvania over alleged antisemitism.5
  • Besides losing support from individual billionaires, including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, Harvard has also witnessed a boycott by over 1.6K alumni, who have pledged to curb their donations.6

Sources: 1CNN, 2Forbes, 3Fortune, 4Verity, 5The Harvard Crimson and 6CTV News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Jerusalem Post. Jewish lives, futures, and well-being are at stake in American universities. The kind of virulent antisemitism some of their campuses have displayed in recent months is an eye-opener. And if all that is being funded by generous billionaires — not the least, Jewish ones — then it surely is time for these donors to rethink their endowments. Are they comfortable being associated with such rhetoric?
  • Narrative B, as provided by The Guardian. While antisemitism, like many other forms of hate, is a problem that must be solved, abandoning and arm-twisting educational campuses isn't the way to do it. These universities, which ought to be the playground of multiple ideas, philosophies, and world-views, must be protected.

Predictions