‘Dire’ antisemitism allegations at Harvard could lead to donor exodus, billionaire Bill Ackman warns

By Nicole Goodkind, CNN

New York (CNN) — Harvard University, like many campuses across America, continues to struggle in its contention with hate speech, protests and unrest over the Israel-Hamas war. One of its most prominent donors said Harvard needs to take urgent action to fix the problem, or it could risk a massive donor exodus.

Billionaire hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman called on Harvard to take steps to tackle a rise in “blatant antisemitism” and “anti-Israel attacks” on campus.

“The situation at Harvard is dire and getting worse, much worse than I had realized,” Ackman said in an open letter to the university’s president, Claudine Gay, posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday.

Ackman, who received his undergraduate degree and MBA from Harvard, added that the failure to take action would put “important sources of Harvard’s revenues” at risk.

He said that Jewish and pro-Israel students have felt unsafe on campus since the October 7 surprise attacks on Israel and subsequent Israel-Hamas war.

Ackman, who met with a group of more than 200 Harvard students and faculty last week, said the university’s administration is not doing enough to protect them.

“Jewish students are being bullied, physically intimidated, spat on, and in several widely-disseminated videos of one such incident, physically assaulted,” he wrote, referring to a video that shows a clash at an on-campus “stop the genocide in Gaza” demonstration.

Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar said in a statement that the confrontation was “troubling” and left “many of our students shaken.”

“Reports have been filed with (the Harvard University Police Department) and the FBI, the facts are being evaluated, and it will be some time before we learn the results of an investigation,” Datar wrote.

But in his letter, Ackman said further action was necessary. The students involved in the incident, he said, should face immediate suspension regardless of the pending investigation.

“Harvard student disciplinary actions should not be outsourced to the police department,” he wrote.

Safety is a concern

Ackman added that students, who chanted “intifada” and what he called “eliminationist” statements towards Israel during protests in support of Palestine, should also be subject to disciplinary action.

Harvard’s Slack chats, where some students have allegedly been posting antisemitic statements and images, should be closely monitored and those who post such things should be disciplined, he said.

When contacted, Harvard directed CNN to earlier statements from Gay and Harvard’s Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick about community conduct.

In a previous statement, Gay said she had convened a group of advisors to come up with a plan to combat antisemitism on campus.

“As we grapple with this resurgence of bigotry, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: Antisemitism has no place at Harvard,” Gay said on October 27 in a speech at Harvard Hillel. “For years, this university has done too little to confront its continuing presence. No longer.”

Employment prospects

Tensions at Harvard’s campus began shortly after the attacks on October 7 when a coalition of student groups released an anti-Israel statement. That letter blamed solely Israel for the deadly attacks by Hamas, although a spokesperson for the group later wrote in a statement that the group “staunchly opposes violence against civilians — Palestinian, Israeli, or other.”

The letter set off a firestorm of criticism, doxxing of students and prompted some student groups to withdraw their endorsements of the letter. (Some students said they had not seen the statement until after it was released.)

Ackman and others suggested there should be employment consequences for students who had signed the letter.

Last week, a group including some of the nation’s most powerful law firms warned America’s elite universities that if they did not crack down on antisemitism on campus, they would face recruitment problems. Elite law firms often recruit directly from top law schools.

In his letter, Ackman acknowledged the success of that message and suggested that Harvard administrators warn students of the potential consequences.

“Because Harvard students are notoriously focused on their job and career prospects post-graduation, disciplinary actions by the administration for failure to meet the University’s standards for appropriate conduct that become part of a student’s permanent record should serve as an effective deterrent to overt antisemitic acts on campus,” he wrote.

“No law firm, corporation or graduate program will hire or admit an antisemitic or racist student,” he added.

Funding at risk

The donor backlash at Harvard so far has included a nonprofit founded by billionaire retail mogul Leslie Wexner and his wife Abigail. The Wexner Foundation said it’s breaking off ties with Harvard University, alleging the school has been “tiptoeing” over Hamas’ attacks.

“We are stunned and sickened by the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians,” the Wexner Foundation’s leaders said.

Ackman, who founded Pershing Square Capital Management in 2003, wrote in his letter: “Harvard has failed in recent weeks to meet its Title VI obligations which threatens a major source of the University’s funding.”

“Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires universities to provide all students, including students who are or are perceived to be Jewish, a school environment free from discrimination. The consequences for a university’s failure to meet the requirements of Title VI include the cancellation of federal funding,” he said.

“When coupled with numerous Jewish and non-Jewish alumni that have publicly and privately shared these same concerns, important sources of Harvard’s revenues are at risk,” he added.

Lawrence Summers, a former president of Harvard and treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, has denounced the strategy of donors withholding financial contributions as a means to influence universities’ stances on issues.

“I believe the adjustments from universities should come from their conscience and conversations within their communities, not in response to financial pressure,” Summers told CNN last month.

Campuses in turmoil

Tensions have risen across American college campuses as student groups clash around the Israel-Hamas war and antisemitic actions surge.

There has been a 400% increase in antisemitic incidents (which include assault, harassment and vandalism) since October 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League. At least 54 such incidents have been reported on campuses.

Ackman said in his letter that Harvard’s lack of response to such events has “emboldened this antisemitic subset of the community to escalate their antisemitic actions.”

“As Harvard’s leader, your words and actions are followed closely,” he wrote. “As a result, the steps you take to address antisemitism at Harvard will be recognized around the world, and can contribute greatly as an example to other institutions seeking to eliminate antisemitism in all of its forms.”

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CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn and Matt Egan contributed to this article.