Harvard antisemitism backlash escalates as more than 1,600 Jewish alumni threaten to withdraw donations after billionaire Bill Ackman and Victoria’s Secret boss Leslie Wexner called out pro-Palestine protests

Harvard University’s anti-Semitism has escalated as more than 1,600 Jewish alumni have threatened to withdraw their donations.

The news comes after billionaire Bill Ackman and Victoria’s Secret boss Leslie Wexner called out the pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted on the prestigious campus.

Both Ackman and Wexner have said the university will soon face a “donor exodus” if Harvard doesn’t take action.

The largest community of alumni, who also have billionaire status, have warned that they too will withdraw their donations if nothing is done in response to the conflict.

Bill Ackman (pictured), the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, has also spoken out and withdrawn his donations to his alma mater

Leslie Wexner (pictured), the former CEO of L Brands, recently withdrew Wexner Foundation funding for the college that supported Israeli professionals to earn a one-year degree from the Harvard Kennedy School

In a letter written by the Harvard College Jewish Alumni Association to the university’s president and dean, members said: “We never imagined that at Harvard College we would have to argue the point that terrorism against civilians requires immediate and unequivocal condemnation. ‘

“We never thought we would have to advocate for recognition of our own humanity,” the letter continued.

The association was founded last month in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel and is the first Jewish alumni association in the university’s history.

According to CNNhas called on the group Harvard to recognize their association, share their plans to ensure the protection of Jewish students across campus and officially adopt the International Holocaust Remembered Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism.

Rebecca Claire Brookes, co-founder of the association, said: ‘Yes, some of them are very influential donors and some of them are more normal sized. But we speak with one voice in response to this moment.”

The Wexner Foundation sent a letter to the Harvard Board of Overseers on October 16, informing them that their “financial and programmatic relationship” with the university has ended.

The foundation’s funds supported up to ten public and government professionals from Israel each year to earn a one-year degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Leslie Wexner, who previously ranked in the Harvard Business Review Top 100 Best Performing CEOs, is of Russian Jewish descent.

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Harvard put up a sign reading ‘Stop the Genocide in Gaza’

The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee has put up posters with the message ‘Free Palestine.’ The student group claimed to have received racist death threats following their statement

Leslie Wexner is the former CEO of L Brands, which includes Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch and Express.

He was previously listed in the Harvard Business Review Top 100 Best Performing CEOs and is of Russian and Jewish descent.

Wexner’s donations to the college span decades and a building at Kennedey School is named in his honor.

Bill Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, has also spoken out and brought up his Alma mater.

In recent news, Ackman led a movement to not hire Harvard students who blamed Israel for the Hamas terror attack.

Now more than a dozen other CEOs have joined the call to blacklist students, including Chief Executive Officers of EasyHealth, Belong, FabFitFun, Inspired and DoveHill.

Ackman said, “You shouldn’t be able to hide behind a corporate shield when making statements supporting the actions of terrorists who, we now learn, have beheaded babies, among other unimaginably despicable acts.”

In response to his statement Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman said, “I’d like to know so I know never to hire these people.”

David Duel, CEO of healthcare organization EasyHealth, responded to Neman’s response with: “Same.”

Ale Resnik, the CEO of rental housing startup Belong, replied to Ackman’s post: “Please share the list. We stay away.’

Pro-Palestinian protesters flood the Harvard University campus on October 14

Since the Hamas attacks and subsequent conflict, nearly 100 incidents of anti-Semitic violence or intimidation have been recorded at American colleges and universities.

Tech investor Martin Varsavsky also chimed in: “Please share the list.”

“This is a must,” says Inspired CEO Stephen Ready. Michael Broukhim, CEO of FabFitFun, said: “We’re in on the action too.”

Michael McQuaid, the head of DeFi operations at blockchain company Bloq, said: “I couldn’t agree more, and I’ve been wondering the same thing for the past few days if/when the names of these students would be revealed.”

And DoveHill CEO Jake Wurzak simply wrote, “I support this.”

Ackman graduated magma cum laude from Harvard University in 1988 with a degree in social studies and is also of Jewish descent.

University President Claudine Gray wrote a letter to the entire Harvard community on Thursday addressing the tensions.

“Harvard rejects all forms of hate, and we are committed to addressing it.”

“Let me repeat what I and other Harvard leaders have said before: anti-Semitism has no place at Harvard,” she said.

Philanthropy at the private Ivy League research university has been the longest-lasting contributor to the school’s revenues, as it accounted for 45 percent of the school’s $5.8 billion in revenue last year.

On October 16, the two female NYU students are seen removing kidnapped posters of Israeli children

The flyers were found in the campus trash bin after the students fled

According to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, small donations from alumni have become a vital source of revenue for universities around the world.

They said about 95 percent of donations universities received in 2022 were less than $5,000.

Universities across the US have made headlines since the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has been going on since early October.

Pro-Palestinian students at NYU have also protested and been caught tearing down posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas.

Jewish students also had to take refuge in a library at Copper Union, a private university in New York, when pro-Palestinian protesters banged on the door.