Harvard Loses Another Donor Over Anti-Semitism Hearing
The 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.
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.
The Spin
Narrative A
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
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.
