Another major donor to the University of Pennsylvania has pulled its support over the college’s failure to condemn Hamas terror attacks — and more are considering following suit.
David Magerman, who helped build Renaissance Technologies, slammed his alma mater’s “misguided moral compass” and said he would “refuse to donate another dollar to Penn” in a letter to president Elizabeth Magill and board chairman Scott Bok posted to X.
“For the past month, I have been deeply ashamed of my association and support for the University of Pennsylvania,” he wrote in the letter Monday.
“The leadership of the university has failed to demonstrate the values I expect from an institution that aims to educate young adults and prepare them for lifelong leadership and to be ambassadors for good in the world.”
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Magerman went on to hammer Magill and Bok for what he described as their “unwavering support for a Hamas-affiliated speaker at the Palestine Writing Festival, followed by your baffling statement about the barbaric atrocities committed by the same Hamas that you allow these speakers to promote.” “
David Magerman has become the latest University of Pennsylvania donor to pull his support.David Magerman / Linkedin
The pro-Palestinian celebration included author Aya Ghanameh, who called for “Death to Israel,” and writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, who said Israel was “a devilish, sick project” and that she “can’t wait for that day. We commemorate its end.”
Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters, who was banned from the UPenn campus due to previous allegations of antisemitic remarks, participated in the event by Zoom.
Following the attack on Israel, critics said Magill failed to condemn Hamas for its actions.
“The University of Pennsylvania does not condemn as evil butchers who decapitate babies and kidnap and rape girls,” Magerman wrote in his letter. “This University of Pennsylvania does not consider the actions to be evil and the perpetrators to be evil.”
He went on to say that “regardless of the economic and social value of a Penn or Wharton degree, there is no place for a self-respecting Jew in an institution that supports evil” as he parted ways with equity billionaire Marc Rowan – who called for Magill and Bok to resign.
In a letter to university officials on Monday, Magerman said he would “refuse to donate another dollar to Penn.” David Magerman / Linkedin
Magerman argued in his letter that dismissal would be “totally inadequate,” claiming: “You have shown me who you are.”
“My only hope left is that all self-respecting Jews, and all moral citizens of the world, dissociate themselves from Penn,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Jonathon Jacobson write in another letter to Magill that he would only donate $1 each year until he resigned “and the Board of Trustees develops the backbone to fulfill its mission, which is to govern the university according to the principles on which it was founded.”
The $1 donation is a far cry from what he described as “multiple seven-figure donations,” as well as his family’s scholarships for students and financial support for the school’s basketball program.
The Ivy League came under fire last month for hosting a Palestinian Writing Festival, which featured speakers critical of Israel. Palestine Writes
“The university I attended and which shaped me, is almost unrecognizable today, and the values it espoused are not American values,” Jacobson wrote.
“There have been many issues over the last few years where the administration has not shown leadership, moral courage or the ability to distinguish between clearly right and clearly wrong.”
He called university officials’ free speech defense of the Palestine Writing Festival “laughable,” given that Penn ranked 247 out of 248 in the 2024 FIRE College Free Speech Rankings (only Harvard is worse).
But Jacobson said he did not blame university officials, writing: “You are the product of a deeply messed up ed value system, where leaders have lost the ability to take the moral high ground.
“Unfortunately, an entire generation of our children is also a product of this system and this ideology, which is now deeply entrenched at Penn and countless other universities, is now also affecting our media, legal apparatus and Congress.”
In recent days, university president Elizabeth Magill has tried to quell the controversy by condemning Hamas.
“We live in a very serious and dangerous time,” he said. “Enough. It’s time to reverse this trend and restore our ‘elite’ universities to the principles they were founded on: as places of inquiry, where lively debate, diversity of opinion and communication across lines of difference is not only valued, but actually mandated.”
Their letter came the same day Ronald Lauder – the heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics empire – said he would “reexamine” his financial support for the Ivy League school.
Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor who served as ambassador to China, also previously said his family would no longer donate to the University of Pennsylvania, due to its “silent silence” on Hamas attacks on Israel.
Before that, CEO Apollo Rowan demanded that Magill resign as he did not want to condemn Hamas attacks. Rowan also urged alumni to “close their checkbooks” until the school’s leadership changes.
In a statement to The Post, Magill said: “Alumni are important members of the Penn community. I heard their anger, pain, and frustration and I took action to make it clear that I stand, and Penn stands, firmly against terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel and against antisemitism.
The Ivy League university faced backlash for its refusal to condemn Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel. Shutterstock
“As a University, we support and encourage the free exchange of ideas, along with a commitment to the safety and security of our community and the values we share and strive to advance. Penn has a moral responsibility to combat antisemitism and to educate our society to recognize and reject hatred in all its forms.
“I have said that we should communicate more quickly and widely about our position, but there is no doubt that we are firm in our beliefs.”
University officials have tried in recent days to quell the controversy by openly condemning Hamas.
“I don’t want to leave any doubt about my position,” Magill said at the weekend.
“I, and this university, are horrified and condemn the terrorist attacks of Hamas on Israel and their brutal atrocities against civilians. There is no justification — none — for this heinous attack…”
Bok also issued a statement through the university “condemning the horrific atrocities and expressing solidarity with the Jewish community.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
