Jewish billionaire and philanthropist Henry Swieca has quit the board of Columbia University’s business school, citing the Ivy League school’s “moral cowardice” on anti-Jewish sentiment on campus.
Swieca slammed Columbia for allowing “pro-Hamas students” to march on campus and said he must make “a clear and principled stand regarding recent events.”
“To my deep regret, the reputation and integrity of Columbia University, and by extension, Columbia Business School, have been significantly compromised by a moral cowardice that appears beyond repair,” Swieca wrote in an October 30 letter to Columbia Business School Dean Costis Maglaras.
A brave and honorable member of the Board of Columbia Business School resigns in response to the university's refusal to condemn Hamas' crimes against humanity and its support of pro-Hamas organizations on campus. pic.twitter.com/1Hmqw9TO8g
— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) November 8, 2023
Swieca called the deadly attacks by the terrorist group Hamas on Israeli civilians last month “deeply revolting.”
On October 7, Hamas launched deadly terrorist attacks on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, including women and children. Israel has responded with airstrikes and a ground offensive.
“Statements from the University are meaningless when pro-Hamas students march on campus yelling slogans calling for the complete destruction of Israel,” Swieca wrote, calling it “abhorrent.”
“The entire Columbia administration has failed to take a strong stance condemning Hamas, an organization whose very charter plainly states its goal to annihilate the state of Israel and Jews worldwide,” Swieca continued. “With blatantly anti-Jewish student groups and professors allowed to operate with complete impunity, it sends a clear and distressing message that Jews are not just unwelcome, but also unsafe on campus.”
Swieca concluded his letter by saying that given these circumstances, he is “compelled to disassociate myself” from Columbia.
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“My resignation is an expression of my deep concern for the direction in which the university is heading,” Swieca said.
After the letter’s release, Columbia Assistant Professor Shai Davidai expressed support for the former board member, calling him “brave and honorable” and saying Swieca resigned in response to the university’s “refusal to condemn Hamas’ crimes against humanity.”
On November 1, Columbia University’s president praised the “persistence” of students accused of anti-Semitism in the wake of Hamas’ attacks, Fox News reported.
“We are grateful for the persistence and perseverance of the students, and their families, in the face of this harassment,” Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said in an email to the community.
Shafik said the university was establishing a “Doxing Resource Group” after a nonprofit sent trucks to Columbia’s campuses in Manhattan with large video screens that read “Columbia’s Leading Antisemites” and showed students’ headshots and names.
Pro-Palestinian protests have cropped up at a number of universities since Hamas’ attacks last month.