Robert Kraft donates $1M to Yeshiva University after pulling support from Columbia University
Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated $1 million to NYC’s Yeshiva University this week.
Kraft announced in April that he was pulling support from his alma mater, Columbia University, over its handling of the anti-Israel protests at the Ivy League school’s Manhattan campus.
He said at the time in a statement of Columbia: “The school I love so much – the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity – is no longer an institution I recognize.”
He has said he’s still willing to support Columbia’s Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life.
Yeshiva has reportedly said it expects an influx of students who are leaving secular schools amid the protests on campuses.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) told Yeshiva University graduates at its commencement last month that he was “profoundly disappointed” in Harvard University’s inability to address antisemitism on its campus — before dramatically removing his own ceremonial crimson academic hood representing his Ivy League alma mater.
Kraft’s Blue Square Scholars program at the school will help students transferring in after feeling unsafe on other college campuses due to antisemitism.
Kraft reportedly said in a statement of the Yeshiva donation: “I am honored to establish the Blue Square Scholars program at Yeshiva… in order to give students a welcoming place to further their education and grow into leaders who will serve as advocates for unity and respect and will push back on all hate.”
He further stated: “At a time where hate has been unleashed across our universities, Jewish students are feeling isolated and unsafe. Yeshiva is providing a safe haven for these students and I look forward to seeing them thrive in an academic environment where they could live and study free of fear for being who they are.”
Kraft also created the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, and its Blue Square campaign. The campaign’s ads have aired during the Super Bowl and Oscars, and supporters have included Tom Brady, Jon Bon Jovi and other stars.
Kraft took out full-page ads in several newspapers recently, we reported, featuring a heartfelt letter saying, “As a graduate of Columbia University, I am deeply saddened by the hate and polarization taking place today on a campus I love so much.”
He also wrote: “I am appalled that this hate has only continued to rise and has spawned growing levels of physical intimidation and threats of violence that have taken over college and university campuses across our country.”
