Harvard donor Ken Griffin phoned the university to request administrators issue a strong condemnation of Hamas’ attack against Israel, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Griffin phoned Penny Pritzker, the head of the university’s board, to push the school to formally announce strong support for Israel, per the outlet. Griffin relayed to the New York Times that he and Pritzker “were in passionate agreement” over the matter. (RELATED: Penn Loses Billionaire Donor Over ‘Silence’ Regarding Israel)
Griffin, who is worth nearly $36 billion according to Bloomberg, noted that the university had been sluggish to address the recent attacks against Israel. In contrast, elite schools such as Harvard have been quick to celebrate progressive causes such as the Black Lives Matter movement or condemn events like January 6.
Major Harvard donor Ken Griffin called on his alma mater to condemn Hamas terror: report https://t.co/zh8CGs6ejk pic.twitter.com/Q3LW8PqMlN
— New York Post (@nypost) October 16, 2023
Harvard President Claudine Gay issued a statement on October 10 to “condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.”
Gay also addressed the letter co-signed by over 30 student groups at Harvard which blamed the terror attacks on Israel, saying that “while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.”
Griffin vowed that his hedge fund Citadel will not hire any of the heads of the student organizations that co-signed the letter condemning Israel.
Griffin donated $300 million to his alma mater in 2023. The university subsequently named the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences after Griffin — a move that provoked harsh criticism by Harvard students and faculty due to his politics. Griffin was previously a high-profile donor for Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign. He later announced that he would pause support for DeSantis’ presidential campaign citing his falling poll numbers and public conflict against the Disney corporation.
Universities have faced significant backlash from prominent donors over their reluctance to publicly condemn the recent attacks against Israel. Some of these donors have pulled back from giving funds to their respective universities as a result.