UPenn Loses Major Donor, Board Member over Antisemitism

The University of Pennsylvania lost both a major donor and a board member over allegations of antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Jon Huntsman, former U.S. ambassador and a major donor to the university, said he would no longer be funding the school, citing its silence in the face of the horrific terrorist attack that claimed more than 1,400 Israeli lives, most of whom were civilians.

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Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades via Storyful

“The University’s silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel (when the only response should be outright condemnation) is a new low. Silence is antisemitism, and antisemitism is hate, the very thing higher ed was built to obviate,” Huntsman said in a letter obtained by the Daily Pennsylvanian.

“Consequently, Huntsman Foundation will close its checkbook on all future giving to Penn — something that has been a source of enormous pride for now three generations of graduates. My siblings join me in this rebuke,” he added.

After a three-hour emergency meeting, Vahan Gureghian resigned from UPenn’s board of trustees for the same reason.

“Just as at so many other elite academic institutions, the Penn community has been failed by an embrace of antisemitism, a failure to stand for justice and complete negligence in the defense of our students’ wellbeing,” Gureghian said in his resignation letter.

Tamar, Yonatan, and their children — Shachar (6), Arbel (6), and Omer (4) — were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz. (@EladStr Twitter/X)

UPenn President Liz Magill said that the university does not support antisemitism.

“The University did not, and emphatically does not, endorse these speakers or their views. While we did communicate, we should have moved faster to share our position strongly and more broadly with the Penn community,” Magill said.

“I stand, and Penn stands, emphatically against antisemitism. We have a moral responsibility—as an academic institution and a campus community—to combat antisemitism and to educate our community to recognize and reject hate,” she added.

As Breitbart News reported, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, a prominent donor to UPenn, called on Liz Magill to resign for her response to the rising tide of antisemitism on campus.

“It took less than two weeks to go from the Palestine Writes Literary Festival on UPenn’s campus to the barbaric slaughter and kidnapping of Israelis,” Rowan wrote.

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Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.