New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft on Monday called tenured Columbia University professors one of the “biggest problems” facing his alma mater in the wake of disruptive anti-Israel protests on campus.
Kraft, 82, called for academics with secure jobs at the Ivy League school to be held accountable for incendiary remarks and lectures that some argue have indoctrinated students to hate Israel.
“We have professors who, instead of teaching how to think, are trying to tell our young people what they should think,” the billionaire former Columbia University donor told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“I think one of the biggest problems that we have to do something about is really tenure at these universities,” Kraft added. “Where people can do things and don’t have accountability.”
Kraft, who is worth $11.1 billion and has been one of Columbia University’s most prolific donors, announced earlier on Monday that he was pulling his financial support from the school “until corrective action is taken” to address the “virulent hate” plaguing the Manhattan campus.
“We have hatred and intimidation taking over,” Kraft told Hannity about the state of his alma mater, noting that when he was an undergrad, Columbia “was a place where people listened, were empathetic, had compassion.”
Anti-Israel and pro-Hamas remarks made by several Columbia University faculty members, including Joseph Massad and Mohamed Abdou, were referenced by House lawmakers earlier this month during congressional hearing on antisemitism on the school’s campus.
Massad, who is tenured, celebrated the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state as “awesome” and a “stunning victory of the Palestinian resistance.”
Abdou, a visiting scholar, declared on social media he is “with Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad” just days after the terror attack.
Kraft said he was dismayed by the level of antisemitism he’s witnessed on college campuses since Oct. 7, 2023.
“I never thought I’d see what’s going on in America, what’s happening right now, and it really pains me to see it,” he said.
“We can’t have this intimidation that’s filtering through all these colleges, and the hate, continue to grow and multiply the way it is,” Kraft argued.
The Patriots owner, who is Jewish, urged members of other “marginalized” communities to stand up and condemn anti-Israel protests.
“Ninety percent of the people in this country are good people. They just have to be educated, and we can’t have them apathetic or misguided … they have to stand up and not be silent,” he said.
“It starts with the Jews, but then every group that feels marginalized whether it be Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, gay people – it will just really impact the great fabric of this country where people have freedom to operate and go the way they want.”
Kraft indicated that he will continue to support his namesake Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life at Columbia University, calling it a “haven for professors and students who don’t feel safe” on campus.
The high-profile anti-Israel protest taking place at Columbia University has shut down the institution’s main campus, forcing students to take classes online.
The demonstrations have included ugly incidents where protesters could be heard shouting antisemitic and pro-Hamas chants.
