1 year ago
218
NEW DELHI: Hedge fund
billionaire Leon
Cooperman has strongly objected the
pro-Palestinian student protests
in Columbia University and has also vowed to stop donating to the university.
According to a report in the New York Post, in a recent interview, the Polish-Jewish descent, Cooperman slammed students protesting the Jewish state as having “s–t for brains.”
“We have one reliable ally in the Middle East — that’s Israel.
We only have one democracy in the Middle East — that’s Israel, okay? And we have one economy tolerant of different people — gays, lesbians, etc. And that’s Israel,” the 80-year-old chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors, a New York-based investment firm with over $3.3 billion in assets, continued.
“So I have no idea what these young kids are doing," he added.
Cooperman further said that he would stop donating to his alma mater unless he notices any change from the administration, which has till now refused to condemn a tenured professors comments on Hamas terror attacks against Israel as 'awesome,' the New York Post reported.
The billionaire was referring to comments made by politics and history professor Joseph Massad, who called Hamas’ attacks on Israel a “stunning victory” in an article he published on The Electronic Intifada a day after the conflict ignited.
According to the report, Cooperman also advised the university administrators to "fire this professor."
Cooperman told in the interview that he has donated almost 50 million dollars to Columbia University, but now he is thinking about diverting the money some other philanthropic works.
According to the report, almost 60,000 people signed a petition created by a student which accused the university's of 'condoning and supporting terrorism,' and demanding the professor's termination.
The petition firmly states, "Irrespective of one's perspective on the conflict, endorsing and celebrating one of the most heinous acts of terrorism in history is never justifiable."
In response, a letter of support for Professor Massad condemned the petition and called upon Columbia University President Nemat Shafik to provide unwavering assurances for his personal safety and academic freedom. This letter garnered signatures from thousands of individuals, including alumni, staff, and students of the university.
According to the New York Post, Columbia University has refrained from offering comments on the matter when contacted by The Post. However, several professors have voiced their opinions, among them, Israeli-American assistant professor Shai Davidai.
He alleged that Columbia's President, Minouche Shafik, has not addressed the concerns raised by student groups. In a YouTube video titled "an open letter to every parent in America," he expressed reservations about allowing his daughter to attend the Ivy League institution.
"The View" host Meghan McCain also conveyed her feelings of shame regarding her association with Columbia University in New York City. She pointed to what she described as a significant presence of antisemitism on campus. Meghan McCain firmly stated her decision not to contribute financially or engage in speaking events with the university. She stressed that such virulent antisemitism and a professor's expression of feeling 'invigorated' by terror attacks are unacceptable within the academic sphere.
Furthermore, on a recent occasion, university administrators canceled a student group's on-campus movie night after the group indicated that "Zionists" were not welcome.
A Columbia University spokesperson reiterated the institution's stance, emphasizing, "As we have reiterated many times over the past few weeks, antisemitism or any other form of hatred will not be tolerated in our community."
English (US)