UPenn Faces Donor Exodus Over Israel-Hamas War and Pro-Palestine Writing Event

Members of the U.S. Jewish community protest against the Israeli military operation in Gaza, inside the Cannon building in the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 18, 2023. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is facing a decline in financial backing from influential donors due to its responses to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and alleged antisemitism on campus.

Billionaire Clifford Asness, a UPenn alumnus, is the latest major donor to close off his checkbook from the Ivy League school.

In a letter to UPenn President Elizabeth Magill on Oct. 16 shared on X, Mr. Asness condemned the school for deviating from freedom of thought and expression. He specifically pointed out the school’s hosting of a Palestinian literature festival in September, calling it an “antisemitic Burning Man festival. ”

“Of course, most distressing to me was your first statement making vague equivalences between the intentional murder of children (and others) by terrorists and the accidental injury to children that sadly occurs when murdering terrorists hide behind children to escape justice,” the 57-year-old billionaire wrote.

Mr. Asness added that he’d recently completed his five-year pledge payments to UPenn and “will not be considering another until such meaningful change is evident.”

He is a hedge fund manager and co-founder of AQR Capital Management, a money management firm that oversees $100 billion in assets. According to Forbes, the hedge fund tycoon is worth $1.6 billion.

UPenn Loses Deep-pocket Donors

Mr. Asness wasn’t the sole donor to withdraw funding from UPenn amidst the uproar over the controversial Palestinian Writers fest and the war in the Middle East.

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Leading the exodus of high-profile donors was Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management and a generous alumnus who, with his wife, gifted $50 million to the school in 2018.

In an Oct. 10 letter to The Daily Pennsylvanian—published by eJewish Philanthropy— Mr. Rowan wrote: “Two weeks and more than 1,000 slaughtered and kidnapped Israeli civilians later, UPenn has still not condemned the hate-filled Palestine Writes festival.”

He urged all UPenn alumni and supporters who disagree with the current direction to cut off their funding until President Magill and Penn Board of Trustees Chairman Scott L. Bok step down.

“It is time for the trustees to begin moving UPenn in a new direction. Join me and many others who love UPenn by sending the university $1 in place of your normal discretionary contribution, so that no one misses the point,” he stated.

Tension Boils Over Israel-Hamas War

The ramifications of campus discourses around the ongoing Israel-Hamas war have extended beyond academia, as alumni donors and prospective employers scrutinize student and school leadership responses to the matter.

At Harvard, the backlash has already led to the financial withdrawal of the Wexner Foundation, a philanthropic organization established by Leslie Wexner and his wife, after 34 years of partnership. Citing Harvard University’s “tiptoeing, equivocating” handling of Hamas’ attacks, the Wexner Foundation announced it will sever its ties with the school, according to the Harvard Crimson.

A number of law firms, including Davis Polk & Wardwell and Winston & Strawn, have also rescinded job offers from students who signed on to or drafted public statements that hold Israel accountable for the tragic loss of life in the Hamas attack.