Columbia University was rocked by anti-Israel protests over the past several weeks. Hundreds of university students and outside agitators took over sections of campus by setting up “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” and refusing to leave unless administrators condemn and boycott Israel. Footage of the protests has shown demonstrators chanting in support of Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and even threatening to harm members of the Jewish community on campus. In many cases, activists have also lambasted the US and Western civilization more broadly.
Israeli University Receives $260M Donation From Columbia Alum: Report
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by Algemeiner Staff
Bar-Ilan University. Photo: Bar-Ilan University/Wikimedia Commons.
Israel’s Bar-Ilan University received its largest ever donation of nearly NIS 1 billion ($260 million) earlier this week, from the estate of an anonymous donor who is reported to be an alumni of Columbia University, according to the New York Post.
The public research university based in Ramat Gan described the philanthropist as a “North American Jew and graduate of Columbia University who was active in World War II.”
According to the university, the donor “saw Israel as a safe haven for the Jewish people and was committed to its economic and social stability.”
The massive donation will be used to recruit dozens of outstanding researchers in Deep Tech science fields such as energy, environment, cryptography, bio-convergence, quantum, AI, and natural language processing, according to a press release from the University’s president Professor Arie Zaban.
The donation, which comes at a time when academic boycotts against Israeli institutions are spreading around the world, has the potential to revolutionize the university, its president said.
The university said that in order to accommodate the new laboratories, it would expand physically into nearby Sheba Hospital due to a lack of space on the university’s own existing campus, until new buildings are constructed. The university’s engineering building, for example, is expected to double in size.
